This is War
by minnov
Summary: There was nothing to suggest a kidnapping. Except for the fact that she never showed up for training at Mount Justice that day.
1. A Warning

Disclaimer-Sadly, I don't any of the rights to the DC universe, just to my thoughts.

Here is my story that hopefully interests someone. I seriously think someone needs to be kidnapped in the show... Just maybe not quite as...gory? as in this.

Warnings-Contains blood, slight torture, and mild language. I think the teen warning should cover the story.

On with the show!

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><p>There was nothing. Nothing to suggest a kidnapping. Except, of course, for that small fact that the blonde archer wasn't there. She hadn't shown up for training and Artemis <em>never <em>missed training. Her mother said she hadn't come home from school the day before, either.

They had been good, up until now.

The screen in the cave blinked and beeped as they received a new e-mail, sent through the Watchtower, an expert hacker's work. The Team rushed over, Wally by far the quickest to get there.

_Recognized Batman 02_

He swept over to the screen and opened the e-mail with the teens watching intently. M'gann, however, turned away almost as soon as it was opened.

There was a picture of the missing archer, gagged and bound to a chair, bloody with cuts crisscrossing her body and her combat uniform, though the arrow insignia remained clear. She had been conscious when the photo was taken, glaring at whoever had taken it.

He plugged the USB cord from his glove into the computer and tried, unsuccessfully, to track the origin. "Crap." He muttered. They had someone good working for them.

There was a message with the email.

_We just want to see you suffer. _

_Recognized Green Arrow 08_

He walked in, carrying a box and looking worried even behind his domino mask.

"They sent it to the Star City police headquarters, addressed to me." He picked something out of the box, revealing it to be half of Artemis's bow. There was a collective intake of air from the Team.

_Recognized Red Arrow B06_

Everyone turned towards him, Green Arrow still holding the bow half. Red Arrows eyes narrowed behind the mask ever so slightly before returning to their usual cold stare. They knew what the loss of a bow meant to an archer. It was like losing an arm, a part of them.

Red Arrow looked at the screen, Artemis's picture still up. It was almost immediately replaced by that of a ringing phone icon. The contact showed it was Gotham's own police Commissioner Gordon.

To be called at the Cave was something important. Batman answered the call. Gordon's somewhat haggard-looking face appeared on the screen.

"Sorry to have to reach you on this number, Batman, but when I tried the Bat-Cave, I was told to reach you here." Batman nodded for him to continue. "A package came for you." He held up the other half of Artemis's bow. The Arrows and Batman scowled.

"Thank you, Commissioner." Batman hung up on the confused man.

The Team watched everything with expressions ranging from anger to grief to guilt but nonetheless remained silent. Inwardly, they all wanted to scream. Except Red Arrow, but he didn't count. He wasn't a part of the Team. They all, Red Arrow included, turned back to Batman.

"The stays between everyone here-" He was cut off by the sound of the computer's voice.

_Recognized Black Canary 09 Red Tornado 16 _

The heroine's eyes widened as soon as she walked in, immediately noticing the picture of Artemis on the screen. The android would have if he could have.

"What happened?" Came the obvious question from the woman.

"We don't yet-" Again, Batman was cut off by the computer, showing another new e-mail. Attached was a video and another message.

_You don't get her back. You do get one of these every hour until midnight tonight. _

Batman didn't hesitate in playing the video.

A loud burst of static assaulted their ears. It dissolved as the camera focused on a figure.

Another collective gasp before Wally feel to his knees, slammed his fist into the ground and whispered one word, not taking his eyes off of the screen.

"Artemis…"


	2. The Good and the Evil

Disclaimer-Sadly, I don't any of the rights to the DC universe, just to my thoughts.

I wrote a good part of the story when I was sitting home sick today. Not fun. .

Warnings-Contains blood, slight torture, and mild language. I think the teen warning should cover the story.

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><p>The archer on the screen looked at least five times worse than the picture sent minutes ago though she remained in the same position as before. It didn't take a genius to figure out that this was being streamed live.<p>

There was another difference to the archer. A green-feathered arrow stuck out of her upper left arm, eyes showing pain but also anger and…betrayal? They didn't have time to focus on it as the camera zoomed out, revealing a deep green quiver with twelve other green-feathered arrows sticking out.

Robin checked the time. It was exactly 12:00.

'_One for every hour.' _The Boy Wonder couldn't help but think.

The camera zoomed out farther, revealing a message on the floor written in what could only have been Artemis's blood.

_The last through her heart._

Robin swallowed as his suspicions were confirmed.

Only then did he notice the tapping of her right foot. At first, it seemed erratic, but he soon found the pattern. His eyes widened. Morse code!

_Don't come. The Shadows. I'll be alright. Don't come. The Shadows. I'll be alright…_

They all knew that the last part wasn't true.

He knew he'd gotten it right as soon as a commotion raged on screen, someone finally realized what she was doing as the archer repeated her message. Someone jumped into the screenshot, the entire room watching as he viciously backhanded the archer. They could see the blood starting to stain through the gag as the person, who kept his back carefully to the camera, executed another backhand to the face, the girl's head twitching unnaturally to the side again. And again. And again, until her body went limp and her foot finally stopped tapping the desperate message.

_Recognized Zatanna A03_

As the raven-haired girl entered, no one paid mind, focused on the video as she silently joined them. There was a final slap before the video cut out.

"And her." Batman growled, adding on to his previous statement.

Everyone's reactions varied. Batman and Red Arrow just looked pissed; big surprise there. Black Canary, Green Arrow, and Kaldur looked worried. Red Tornado looked…like Red Tornado. Robin had a glare going that could rival even Batman's. Superboy looked slightly less pissed than Batman and Red Arrow, but only slightly. M'gann looked ready to pass out. Zatanna looked horrified. And Wally… Wally looked like he could punch through a five foot thick steel door.

"Artemis..." He repeated what he'd seen at the beginning of the video and stood up shakily, reaching out to Robin for support.

Batman closed the e-mail and turned to the Team, Red Arrow, and Zatanna. "First, why are you two here?" He asked darkly, making Zatanna nearly jump out of her skin.

Red Arrow answered first. "I received a tip that the Shadows were up to something and came to see what you knew. Now I do."

Batman simply nodded and turned towards Zatanna. "I tried contacting Artemis but she wouldn't answer. I came here to see if any of you had seen her." She said quietly.

Batman sighed before returning to the matter at hand, but the Team, and Zatnna, beat him to it.

"We're going after her." The said simultaneously.

Red Arrow stood a few steps away, arms crossed. "And how do we know it's not a trap?" He asked, scowling. Of course he didn't trust that no good, lying-

"Did you see the look in her eyes?" Wally practically shouted, turning to glare at his 'friend'. "I'm not just going to leave her. She's saved our butts more than once! The least we could do is look for her!"

Red Arrow scoffed but didn't get the chance to speak.

"We don't know what the Shadows are planning or what lengths they'll go to in order to accomplish their goal, whatever it may be." Batman said, looking at the teenagers in front of him. He sighed, knowing resistance was futile. "It's your choice whether or not to go, all of you." He said, looking at Red Arrow before back to the others.

The Team immediately nodded, not having to think about it twice. Zatanna soon followed suit. Red Arrow shook his head at first but then moved to stand by the Team.

"Alright. Take these with you." Batman produced six video transmitters, from where would remain a mystery. "If another video is sent, we'll stream it to you. Now go before I change my mind."


	3. The Victim

Disclaimer-Sadly, I don't any of the rights to the DC universe, just to my thoughts.

I now present, the next chapter! Ok, so I know they're not the longest chapters in the world but that means more updating more often!

Warnings-Contains blood, slight torture, and mild language. I think the teen warning should cover the story.

* * *

><p>As soon as she regained consciousness, Artemis glared at the assassin in front of her, a silent <em>'Why?' <em>etched on her face.

Cheshire shrugged. "Everyone had their price, dear sister; one must only find it."

Artemis had never wanted to punch her sister in the face more than right now. Not when she'd left Artemis alone with their father. Not when their mother had actually come home from prison. Not even that first mission with the Team where she threatened to reveal Artemis's secret.

This was a new low, even for her.

For her father? That was a different story.

**Meanwhile…**

The senior heroes had left the Team, Zatanna, and Red Arrow on their own for this one. They replayed the video again and again looking for any sign of where she was, though it was likely that Artemis herself didn't know.

Robin was again trying to trace the signal, still unsuccessful. He finally shook his head, realizing he couldn't crack it. The rest of them focused on the video but again found nothing.

"Zatanna, if we found one of the Shadows' people, could you have them blurt out where they're keeping her? Like with Morrow?" Robin asked, remembering their last mission with her. They all looked to her expectantly. She nodded smiling.

"Hello, Megan!" The Martian smacked her head.

"So, where now? Robin?" Aqualad asked as the hacker pulled up files on recent Shadow bases.

"Here. This one in Gotham is the most recent. They probably only just moved." The Boy Wonder spoke. "They've probably still got at least a few people there."

At this, Kid Flash was vibrating with impatience. "What are we waiting for? Let's go!" He sped off in the direction of the Bio-Ship's hanger with the others following at a much slower speed.

M'gann activated the ship and everyone steeped on board. There was a new seat for Zatanna but Red Arrow sat in Artemis's normal one. Soon enough, Robin entered in the coordinates and the ship sped off towards the dark city.

**1:00 P.M.**

The Bio-Ship was touching down when everyone's video transmitters buzzed. They picked them up to see Batman's cowl-covered face.

"They sent another one. Right on time." It was all he said before linking them to the video feed.

Artemis was conscious in the video again but that only made it worse. She looked even worse since the last video had cut out, if possible.

_We wanted you to see this one._

The words scrolled on the bottom of their screens. The focus returned to the more battered girl but still with only the one arrow in her left arm. Cheshire stepped in front of the camera, still wearing her smiling mask. In her right hand was another arrow.

She paused only to wave at the camera before turning back to the archer and stabbing the arrow into her lower left arm. They could do nothing as they watched Artemis's eyes shut in pain. She made a motion like coughing but the gag prevented her from expelling the blood. It continually soaked the gag, spreading into designs before marring together.

When the Archer's eyes opened again, they actually looked the smallest bit frightened. The camera zoomed out again, showing only eleven arrows in the quiver and a new message on the floor was revealed.

_Tick tock._

Everyone saw her foot start to tap again.

_Star-_

They knew the consequence and knew Artemis did, too. Her message was cut off as the same man from earlier came to stand in front of her, back to the camera. He proceeded to backhand the archer again. Again. And again. And again. Her head snapped to the side every time, unnaturally and painfully. She fell unconscious sooner this time, no doubt blood loss having a part to play in it. Just like before, there was another slap before the video cut out.

Everyone's reactions were about five times worse than before. They snapped shut their transmitters and Robin turned to them. "S.T.A.R. Labs or Star City?" He asked, voicing their thoughts.

They were about to find out.


	4. The Moment of Truth

Disclaimer-Sadly, I don't any of the rights to the DC universe, just to my thoughts.

I now present, the next chapter! Ok, so I know they're not the longest chapters in the world but that means more updating more often!

Warnings-Contains blood, slight torture, and mild language. I think the teen warning should cover the story.

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><p>Artemis did not stir from the depths of unconsciousness like before. She remained still, unmoving, and unresponsive. She would not wake until the last five minutes before 2:00.<p>

**Meanwhile…**

The seven teenagers made their way towards the warehouse at the Central Gotham Pier. They stayed in shadows, observing. Robin was right. They were six men patrolling the perimeter, each armed with a machine gun. Aqualad spoke, directing the Team. "Take them out as quietly as possible. Zatanna, go with Robin to get Artemis's location. Miss Martian, link us up."

_Everyone online? _Asked the Martian, everyone responding with a yes.

_Good, now go! _Aqualad ordered through the link. Robin and Zatanna dashed off and easily disarmed one. Everyone else followed suit with the five remaining guards.

"Where are the Shadows now?" Robin angrily asked the guard.

"I-I don't know!" He was horrible at lying. Robin nodded to Zatanna.

"_Trulb tuo eht 'swodahs wen esab noitacol!"_

"They're in Star City! It's in an abandoned warehouse like this one in the industrial district near Queen Industries HQ! Number 43!" The man clamped his hands over his mouth, Zatanna smiling.

_We got it! _Robin called over the link.

_Everone meet back at the ship. _Aqualad called over the link. Within a minute, everyone was there. M'gann took the ship out of camouflage mode and everyone boarded, happy to finally be on their way to saving Artemis from certain death.

**2:00 P.M.**

Again, their transmitters buzzed on the hour. Batman's face greeted them when they opened them.

"It's them." He said nothing more as the video began to play.

Artemis looked worse than ever. She seemed to be struggling with consciousness as Cheshire appeared on the screen again, waving to the watching heroes. They all inwardly cringed, knowing what was coming.

And Artemis just looked so…helpless. Wally hated this. _Hated _it. He was not losing her again.

Because this time, it was real.

Cheshire spun the green arrow in her fingers playfully before suddenly turning to Artemis and stabbing it into her left fabric-covered thigh. Artemis flinched, shutting her eyes as blood started leaking from behind the gag and dripping down her chin. Her gray eyes looked full of hurt, sorrow, and helplessness as a single tear escaped down her cheek.

Again, the camera moved to show a message written in blood.

_Having fun?_

Her foot was tapping as soon as the camera moved. Even in this condition, she gave them a warning.

_Don't come. It's a t-_

The man jumped on screen again, still with his back turned. Artemis still tried to look defiantly at him but it didn't work; her eyes betrayed her. Again. And Again. And again. She passed out rather quickly this time, only being able to take three hits By this time, blood had completely soaked through the gag, another small stream joining the first to drip to the archer's chin. Yet, three more were administered before the video once again cut out.

If they kept going on with the arrows like this, she wouldn't be able to move much for weeks with all the muscle damage. Robin was thinking when the sound of a slammed fist snapped him, and everyone on board, towards Kid Flash.

"Kid…" Roy looked over at him, never having realized that Artemis was a real part of this team, of this family. It affected all of them, making their games go down a few notches. The videos made it so much worse. That was torture. Torture by her own arrows. Not a good way to die. Roy set a hand on his friend's shoulder. "We will get her back."

"I…I just can't lose her…again." Kid's voice rang out through the ship, the five members of the Team recalling the training simulation that had gone so wrong when Artemis had died. He looked at Red Arrow, tears threatening to escape his green eyes.

"KF, we'll get her back. I promise." Robin said from his friend's other side, speaking not only to the addressee but also to the rest of the teens on board because he knew they were on the verge of breaking and they'd be no help to Artemis that. He didn't mention her message.


	5. And the Moment to Lie

Disclaimer-Sadly, I don't any of the rights to the DC universe, just to my thoughts.

I now present, the next chapter! Ok, so I know they're not the longest chapters in the world but that means more updating more often!

Warnings-Contains blood, slight torture, and mild language. I think the teen warning should cover the story.

* * *

><p>Right then, he wished he would have. As they flew into Star City, they were attacked by what could be described as giant dragonflies. Except that real dragonflies don't try to shoot a ship down with lasers.<p>

"Oh, look. A welcoming committee." Red Arrow said sarcastically, reminding them all of exactly what Artemis would have said.

"M'gann! Land on the roof of that building. We will take out the drones from there." Aqualad said, standing up. The Martian nodded and the Bio-Ship touched down on the roof of bank. They quickly disembarked and began taking on the drones.

"There must be hundreds if not thousands!" The Boy Wonder shouted over the clatter and clang of the bots being taken down. He threw three exploding birdarangs into the chaos. Almost immediately, ten of the drones dropped onto the roof.

"This is going to put a dent in things…" Conner could just make out Wally's mumble. The speedster was running and jumping all around the roof, into the drones, and back down again. They took down the drones for the better part of the hour. But they wouldn't stop coming.

"I'm not losing to a bunch of bugs!" Red Arrow growled angrily as he shot arrow after arrow at the offending robots.

Superboy continued to throw them around, sending them crashing into each other. Zatanna kept shouting her magic, taking down a fair bit of the bots. Aqualad was able to short out plenty of the robots using his water-bearers. Miss Martian was using telekinesis, tossing them into each other.

Then, they attack stopped. The drones just hovered there. Their transmitters buzzed and they all groaned. Batman only nodded to their expressions as they saw his face. Then he clicked play.

When their screens flickered to life after the temporary blackness, the first thing they saw was their unconscious archer.

_She must not have woken up… _Robin kept his thoughts to himself but inwardly groaned with the rest of the team.

The man was back. He stood in front of the archer and backhanded her. They watched her head slam to the side and eyes shoot open before becoming glaring slits. Hate was written clearly on her face as the man moved away, though they knew it was temporary.

Cheshire stepped on screen, twirling another arrow in her fingers. This time, she did not go straight to stabbing their archer. She bent down to Artemi's left calf. They could see her draw an 'X' as the fabric slit open and blood started to drip out of the cut. Artemis, for her part, seemed to be trying to distance herself as far from the arrow as possible.

It wasn't working.

Cheshire turned back to the camera and waved again. They winced as the arrow was stabbed right through the center of the 'X'. Artemis flinched and blood forced its way around and through the gag. Again the camera showed a message.

_We are._

And then came Artemis's message. Wally's eyes grew wide. She would get herself killed sooner if she kept it up.

_Not worth it._

She didn't get the chance to repeat the message. The look she sent towards the camera was akin to 'I'm sorry' as the man reappeared. Two strikes in and the archer was out like a light, blood steadily flowing from the gag as Artemis's head lolled. One more slap and the camera cut out again.

But, of course, the drones chose this very minute to attack again.

_That was planned. _Wally reasoned, returning to the fight with more energy and drive than ever before. _They knew we'd be watching… The Shadows know we're here._

They continued to fight the battle, knowing every minute was a risk on Artemis's life. Roy Harper would never admit this to anyone but he couldn't help but care about Artemis, mostly because of Wally. _Don't you dare die on him. _

Aqualad looked across the swarm of drones, knowing their true purpose. _They're stalling. _He thought, sighing internally. The only purpose of the drones was to keep them there, from their hidden teammate. He looked around at the six other teenagers, saw them fighting so hard for one person.

The thought echoed in everyone's mind.

_We're coming, Artemis. We're coming._

And while the archer knew her friends were coming, she didn't want them to. She didn't want them to walk into the trap. She just wanted them to be safe, okay, and away from her and the shadows.

But, of course, that was exactly opposite of what was really going to happen.


	6. And the Moment to Live

Disclaimer-Sadly, I don't any of the rights to the DC universe, just to my thoughts.

Because of the wonderful reviews which, I admit, were not expected, I've given you a longer chapter! This one is about half opinions of Artemis from them and the rest, we'll you see! Read on!

Warnings-Contains blood, slight torture, and mild language. I think the teen warning should cover the story.

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><p>He frowned slightly behind the mask, looking at his daughter. This was not what he'd wanted her to become. She should've stuck with the family business. But then her mother had come home. Said she wanted to go straight and wanted Artemis to do the same. Of course he left. She had been training to be an <em>assassin <em>not a hero. But she had wanted to be a hero, too. She didn't want to kill. She had wanted to _save_.

And look where it got her.

**Meanwhile…**

Wally wanted to scream in frustration. There was no end to these things! If they didn't make it because of these things… He shook his head but couldn't help remembering her last message.

_Not worth it._

He punch right through a drone's tail, fuming. Of course she was worth it! That's what being a team was about. All he could do was keep destroying these things, hoping not to set them back too much.

Red Arrow watched his friend's frustration. If it had just been him, he wasn't sure whether or not he'd go after her. Since he knew Wally, he probably would have. And he'd seen Ollie's face when her walked in with the bow half. Then the picture and the first movie… The man was probably nearing a breakdown by now. He sighed, knowing he'd have to get her back, more for everyone's else's sake than his own.

He looked around again and could actually see a difference in everyone's fighting, even that Zatanna girl. It was more furious and ferocious now than usual. As he shot off more arrows, he just hoped it wouldn't get them all killed.

Robin looked around at the number of drones, to see about as many down as up. _'Great. Just great.' _She'd have at least two more arrows in at this rate. He frowned, executing a perfect roundhouse kick to take out a drone. He couldn't help but feel kinship with the girl after the attack of the Reds at Mount Justice. She'd pulled through when they needed her to. Now, he could only hope they would.

A battle cry from Conner made itself heard among everyone as he jumped to grab a drone. He threw it, sending five others crashing down. He growled, repeating his tactic. Artemis was like a sister to him, to all of them on the Team. So, naturally, he felt the protectiveness that being a big brother entailed.

M'gann hovered above the chaos, taking drones down by just moving her hands. Like Conner, she thought of Artemis like a sister. She, however, was not even close on Artemis's level of toughness. Honestly, it hurt to see her 'sister' like this. She wanted nothing more than to run up, hug her, and take her away from the Shadows. But she couldn't do that, not yet.

Aqualad growled as he swung his water-mace into another drone. He felt the most responsible for her, only because he was leader. Even though he'd had no control over it, her still felt at least like he was somewhat to blame for her kidnapping. He knew they needed to get there, and soon.

'_Senord hsarc otni hcae rehto!'_

Zatanna watched the drones crash down and repeated herself. She wanted to scream, to attack the Shadows, but ultimately just to save her friend. They all did.

**4:00 P.M.**

No one knew how much time had passed until the remaining drones, about one hundred of them, suddenly stopped again. They groaned as their transmitters buzzed yet again. Batman didn't even greet them as he started the video.

It started the same way as the other one, with Artemis unconscious. The man yet again jumped on the screen. He stood in front of Artemis and backhanded her again not once, not twice, but three times before the girl finally regained consciousness. They could all see that she was fighting just to stay with them, her eyes barely half-open as the man walked off again.

Cheshire stepped in again, waving. They could tell she enjoyed this a little too much. Simultaneously, the seven teenagers' jaws clenched as Cheshire bent down to Artemis's right calf. The Archer knew what was coming and seemed to bow her head, almost in defeat. That or she had passed out again, they didn't know. Another red 'X' appeared on her leg.

She turned to the camera and waved again but waited a few seconds before piercing the arrow through the blonde's flesh. Artemis's head jerked upwards for a few seconds before settling down again into obvious unconsciousness. Cheshire walked off as the camera panned down again, another message revealed.

_Of course we knew._

The video cut out and the drones attacked again. It took maybe twenty minutes before the last of the drones were down and the all anxiously boarded the ship again. Ten minutes later, they had reached their destination. The warehouse was swarming with guards. It was definitely their base.

"Superboy, how many are there?" Aqualad asked as the said clone switched to infrared vision.

"About twenty of them but not one in a chair." They all knew he meant Artemis.

"She…she's not there?" Wally didn't want to believe it. He didn't want to believe that they'd come all this way for nothing.

"Well, someone's gotta know where they are in there." said the Boy Wonder. "Right?" He looked around at his teammates.

"Right." Aqualad agreed. They all disembarked again onto the roof of a warehouse twenty feet away. "Miss Martian, keep us linked up for the rest of the mission." Aqualad said.

'_We do not want the Shadows intercepting our comm. Take out the perimeter patrols quickly and quietly. Rendezvous at the entrance afterwards. We will take out those inside together if none of the patrollers have the location.' _Aqualad said through the link. Robin was already off, leaving his signature cackle behind as everyone followed suit.

Ten minutes later, seven patrollers were tied up together. _'Zatanna.' _Aqualad spoke again. The magician nodded.

"_Trulb tuo s'erihsehc noitacol!"_

"We don't know!" they blurted out at the same time.

'_Then we'll have to go inside.' _Everyone nodded at Aqualad's words. _'One, two-' _The door to the warehouse slammed open as five more guards ran out. _'Three.' _Aqualad sighed as they took on the guards. Hearing the commotion, five joined them. Ten minutes later, the ten were tied up next to the original seven.

The teenagers entered the warehouse to find it Ra's al Ghul leaning over a desk, Professor Ojo, and Ubu standing guard. As soon as the heroes walked in, they attacked. Robin was off, leaving his cackle as the only proof he was still in the warehouse. However, seven against two left good odds for the heroes and soon, they were walking towards Ra's.

Their transmitters buzzed and Ra's turned around to smile. "I'll let you watch."


	7. And the Moment to Die

Disclaimer-Sadly, I don't any of the rights to the DC universe, just to my thoughts.

I'm trying to figure out how long I can make this story go. Is ten chapters enough? Tell me your thoughts! But seriously, these longer chapters are gonna make less chapters. Is ten ok or would you guys prefer thirteen if I can stretch it? At least the last chapter will be mostly fluffy goodness and bonding and probably some Spitfire. SO, yeah. Tell me your thoughts! :)

Warnings-Contains blood, slight torture, and mild language. I think the teen warning should cover the story.

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><p><strong>5:00 P.M.<strong>

Artemis was still blacked out like last time when the video started. The man didn't jump on screen, though. For almost a full minute, all they saw was Artemis's bruised, bloodied, and battered form. By the time Cheshire stepped on screen, they were tensed, anxious for what would happen next.

She was spinning another arrow in her fingers and the teens saw that Cheshire grin of her mask, feeling like it was matched underneath. She waved to the camera before standing on the right side of Artemis. She traced the arrow along the side of Artemis's mask, tearing the green fabric and revealing her bruised cheek. Small droplets of blood followed the line.

Artemis's form stirred slightly and her eyes opened with some effort. The dark gray was clouded slightly as they focused on the camera in front of them and the assassin to the side. There was barely any fight in them. Even she knew she would be screwed in a few hours and every time she blacked out that there was a chance of not waking up. But she tried to hang on for the chance that her friends made it.

Cheshire started to write something but Artemis turned her head to the side, trying to prevent her from finishing. The assassin moved her head so she could finish writing 'The Light'. They took in her work, the teens practically growled but were also somewhat confused. They didn't have time to focus on that as the assassin stabbed the arrow into Artemis's right thigh.

She flinched and struggled to maintain a grip on consciousness. The gag was well past soaked as were her bindings. Blood had and continued to pool around the chair she was tied to. She sent a look at the camera that showed her feelings even as her eyes clouded. Pain. Hurt. Sorrow. Helpless. Slight betrayal. The smallest bit of hope that they'd come in time.

She did not send a message. She couldn't. It took more strain just to move her head than a three hour training session with Black Canary. All Artemis could do was stay awake. But even that didn't last long. He was back. Once. That was all it took for the archer to fade again. Twice. Thrice. He still slapped her. When he was finished, the camera showed the next message.

_Hide and seek_

The video cut out and attention was returned to the man standing in front of them, a rather creepy smile plastered onto his face. He was enjoying their pain.

"Now, children, I don't want to fight with you. I'll allow one question but unless you carry Wonder Woman's lasso, don't expect a good answer." He smiled to them, thinking they had no chance.

'_Zatanna, now!' _Aqualad instructed through the mind link.

"_Trulb tuo s'erihsehc noitacol!"_

"In Metropolis there's an abandoned S.T.A.R. Labs facility that they're using. It's about a three miles west of the _Daily Planet _headquarters." Ra's blinked then glared at the teenagers. "Zatara's daughter, I see. We'll meet again." He said before setting off a smoke screen. Seconds later, they heard a jet take off from the roof.

'_M'gann, how fast can the Bio-Ship get to Metropolis?' _Aqualad asked.

'_It'll be at least an hour and a half.' _She replied, trying to stay calm.

"Then, let us go. We have no time to waste!" They all scrambled towards the craft, desperate to get there as quickly as possible.

**5:42 P.M.**

They flew in silence for half an hour before they heard soft…sobbing? Six heads turned towards Kid Flash. His head was in his arms over the control panel in front of his seat. He looked so dejected, slumped there. Robin stood up and walked over to his best friend. "KF, you know we'll save her." He said, trying to calm the redhead.

"I know." His voice was surprisingly steady for one who had just been crying. When he looked up, they saw the tear tracks on his face and mask. He quickly wiped them away. "I know. It's just…really hard…to see her…like that." He said, finally looking up at everyone, who nodded, even Red Arrow. He'd started trusting Artemis hours ago.

_Not worth it._

That had sealed the deal. She'd wanted her friends to stay behind because she knew of the dangers and the risks. Besides that, no one could fake the hurt and pain she was going through. No one. And yet, she hadn't given a cry for help. It had been for _their _sake, not her own. Of course, she had known they would come after her. Roy had known it, too. With Wally like this and Ollie's hair graying as he thought, he would've come just so they'd be back to normal.

God, they hated this. Helplessness. It was the worst feeling ever. It was worse than losing someone, mostly because you knew it could happen but hadn't yet. They could kill Artemis in the next five minutes and no one would be able to stop them. That was the worst part. They were the only ones who knew where she was, the only ones that could help.

M'gann put the ship on autopilot to get up and hug the speedster, tears starting to drip down her own face. The speedster was surprised at the sudden embrace to say the least. He hesitated for a few seconds before returning it. M'gann stood back, no words needed to be spoken but she went over to Suberboy and cried into his shoulder. He was awkwardly patting her back when their transmitters buzzed, no one feeling the time that had passed. They all groaned, or sniffled, as they opened up the technology to see that start of the video.

Artemis was in exactly the same position as the last time, still blacked out. The man rejoined her, Cheshire following. He slapped Artemis. Again. And again. And again. She wasn't waking up. Wally's eyes grew wide in fear. However, they watched as Cheshire began to write on Artemis's left cheek. The archer's eyes opened halfway and they all breathed a sigh of relief. Cheshire twisted the girl's face so that they could read 'will shine'.

Again, no time was spared for thoughts of confusion as the arrow broke through the skin of Artemis's right forearm. Her eyes opened once more before shutting. If they watched closely, they could see her chest was barely rising, not like at the beginning. Yet, it still was. As long as she was breathing, they had a reason to carry on.

The camera panned down again to reveal another message in blood.

_Tag._

Now they were just messing with them. The video cut out. M'gann returned to piloting the ship with everyone else staring out the windows. One thought repeated over and over in everyone's mind.

_Just a little longer, Artemis. Hang on a little longer._

Roy's was a bit different.

_If you die on Wally and Ollie, I'll never forgive you._

* * *

><p><em><em>Um, yeah. The last part should've been Ollie, not Roy. Fixed it... Oops


	8. The Moment to Fight

Disclaimer-Sadly, I don't any of the rights to the DC universe, just to my thoughts.

Go vote on the poll! I put a poll up on my profile.I'll be able to probably make it to thirteen chapters if the overall answer is no. If yes, it'll be at least fifteen chapters. So, vote! And, as always, reviews are welcome! And, because of the poll, there won't be another update until after Christmas. So, yeah. I do have a life outside of writing, actually so that's where I'll be until I've got enough votes to decide what to do. Until then, later!

Warnings-Contains blood, slight torture, and mild language. I think the teen warning should cover the story.

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><p><strong>6:43 P.M.<strong>

They were almost there. As the entered Metropolis, Robin immediately pointed them in the right direction.

"Just because Batman doesn't like others in his city doesn't mean he won't go to others' cities." He explained with a shrug. Two minutes later, they were nearing the abandoned lab.

More drones appeared, about half as many as last time, though. Still, everyone sighed as they touched down on the roof of the lab.

'_Another welcome party just for us.' _Red Arrow thought sarcastically. The others turned to him.

'_We can still hear you.' _They thought before launching themselves into the fray again.

They fought noticeably harder than last time, the thought of being so close urging them onward. They knew this was the place. Star City had only been a distraction. The Shadows had likely not thought that they'd get the truth from Ra's. They'd hoped to be able to take them by surprise but the drones showed that it wouldn't work.

Fifteen minutes and four hundred drones later, their transmitters buzzed and the remaining approximately six hundred drones stopped. Everyone practically growled as the video started, Artemis looking even worse than they last saw her. She was far paler and they had to watch very carefully to see her chest moving at all. Besides that, with all the blood staining her uniform and even her body itself, they knew she'd need medical attention as soon as possible. It was a good thing Mount Justice was fifteen minutes from Metropolis at top speed.

Still, it was not an encouraging sight.

Nonetheless, it didn't stop the mystery man from appearing and trying to wake her up. He slapped her ten times before Cheshire stepped in. With no warning, she plunged the arrow into Artemis's right upper arm. The archer started ever so slightly, eyes barely opening, before falling into the grip of unconsciousness once more. They could only watch as the message was revealed.

_She won't last long._

They knew it was true and as soon as the video shut off, they were back to fighting. However, it was mostly one-sided. The drones had only tried to take down the ship, not kill them. And when they'd disembarked, both times, the drones had only come closer, only swarming around them. They hadn't used lasers.

The Shadows wanted to delay them enough so that Artemis would die. They wanted the Team to watch her suffer. The Shadows knew Artemis would die in a few hours without help.

And they wanted to keep it that way.

**7:23 P.M.**

They were finally gone. Every single one of the flying robots had been defeated. Everyone sat for a moment, catching their breath so they'd be ready for what was next.

'_Conner, how many are inside?' _Aqualad asked through the link.

The clone switched to infrared vision and his eyes widened. _'There must be at least fifty of them throughout the building!' _This facility was five floors above ground. They all knew it was likely more below. _'I-I can't tell how many are below. The walls must be lined with lead. I can't tell what floor they're on; there're too many people.' _He 'said', frowning.

'_Well, we'll just have to work our way down.' _Aqualad 'said', turning to everyone. They knew this would cost them precious time, but they could only hope Artemis would be ok until then. _'Superboy, how many are on this level?' _He asked, obviously indicating the fifth.

'_Seven. It gets more crowded the farther down we go.' _He 'said', frowning again.

'_One for everyone, then. Do not go to the next floor until we are all ready.' _Aqualad instructed. Everyone nodded and he pulled open the rusted door that would lead them into the building.

The entire floor was empty of any furnishings and the walls between rooms and cubicles had been knocked down so that there only left a large, open area. Well, mostly open. Seven rather ugly men rushed towards the group of teenagers. These guys were armed, but Kid Flash took care of that very quickly. Guns in their own separate pile, it didn't take long for the guards to be subdued.

'_Superboy, how many on the next floor?' _Aqualad asked.

'_Ten.' _

'_Let's go!' _They rushed down the stairs to the next floor. It was much the same as the last floor. In fact, the only real difference was the three extra guards. Kid Flash once again ran around, taking guns from the guards. One got a lucky shot in before he could take it. The bullet hit Robin square in the chest. They all turned to him. But the Boy Wonder didn't fall, only showed the slightest recoil, smiling.

'_Kevlar vest.' _He thought quickly before going back to the fight. Before long, the guards were again tied up. Still, three more floors above ground and then who knew how many below to go. Someone looked at the time.

'_Five minutes until the next video.' _Red Arrow thought and it echoed in everyone's minds.

'_We'll stay put until it's over.' _At the look Wally gave Kaldur, he continued. _'We don't want to be distracted and I know it costs time but we don't have much of a choice. We have to wait.' _The rest of them nodded reluctantly.


	9. The Liar

Disclaimer-Sadly, I don't any of the rights to the DC universe, just to my thoughts.

So, since the poll seems to be unanimous, here we go!

Warnings-Contains blood, slight torture, and mild language. I think the teen warning should cover the story.

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><p><strong>8:00 P.M.<strong>

The video was very similar to the last ones. As the man stepped on screen, everyone watched anxiously. Artemis would not be woken by his means of slapping. Unexpectedly, he removed the gag from her mouth, allowing everyone so see the steady, larger stream of blood coming from it. He quickly replaced it with a new one, which soon started to turn scarlet.

Cheshire traded places with the man. She tried a slightly gentler way of waking up the archer, slapping her with less force like you would do to someone who fell asleep. Surprisingly enough, it worked. Artemis's eyes opened slowly, morphing to angry glares at the assassin and someone off to the side, presumably the man.

Everyone released a breath they hadn't realized they'd been holding. Soon after, they tensed, realizing something. Where this arrow hit could tell how long Artemis would last or if she'd be gone within the minute.

Cheshire stepped back again to wave at the camera. The arrow spun in her fingers and it almost looked like she was making a decision of where to put the arrow. Finally, she seemed to settle. If possible, it seemed like the seven teens tensed even more. The arrow struck through the exposed skin in front of Artemis's stomach. A sharp intake of air from the teenagers echoed in the otherwise deserted room.

Artemis paled even more. They saw the conscious effort she made to keep her eyes open, even just barely. They could only hope, again, that the damage was minor. The gag, which had still had some white parts before, had completely turned scarlet within two seconds after the arrow had been stabbed through her stomach. Blood oozed from the corners of her mouth behind the gag as her body tried to cough it up.

Somehow, she was managing consciousness throughout this. It took a lot of effort; that they could see. It was because she knew it was unlikely for her to wake up again if she fell unconscious again. They didn't try to knock her out again, only paned down to reveal the message.

_Surprise._

'_Surprise?' _The word echoed around the link. They looked up to see at least twenty guards, with guns, as well as fifteen genomorphs.

'_Genomorphs? What are genomorphs doing in a Shadows operation?' _Red Arrow and Zatanna were rather confused at Robin's words. At their looks, he simply gave a one-word answer. _'Cadmus.' _Still, it didn't help much. Nonetheless, Kid Flash, Aqualad, Superboy, and Robin felt a sense of Déjà vu as the G-Gnomes used telepathy to send them all into blackness. Miss Martian was unprepared to stop them.

The genomorphs parted to let a blonde man in a hockey mask through to see the fallen heroes. Sportsmaster smiled behind the mask. "Take them and the archer to the dungeons. Keep the archer separate from the others. The Light will decide what we do from there."

**8:32 P.M.**

Red Arrow was the first to wake up. Doing so, he noticed a few things had changed, most noticeably the absence of his bow and arrows. He sat up, rubbing his head and stifling a groan. Upon examination of his surroundings, he found that he and the others were in one large, medieval-looking cell. Fire lapped up from torches spaced evenly throughout the space. He knew this was to keep M'gann and Kaldur weak. The cell was three walls bars and one stone. All emitted a slight green glow. Kyptonite, for Superboy. Kid Flash had nothing done to him, like Robin and himself, save for the missing bow and arrows and the Boy Wonder's utility belt. Looking over to Zatanna, he could tell that she'd been drugged; keeping her unconscious prevented her from using magic.

Upon closer inspection, he saw a figure in the cell across from his shared. The cell itself had been 'treated' the same way as their own. However, once he'd identified the figure, it was clear that it was not to keep her in, but them out. Artemis looked horrible, far worse than on camera. Even in the firelight, he could see how pale she was. The blood on her uniform could have camouflaged her. The arrows remained, which was almost a relief. If they'd been removed, she'd surely have bled out. However, she was no longer bound or gagged, revealing the blood near and on her mouth. Oh, and she was looking at him, of that, he was sure.

He shook his head but before he could say anything, her rough, weak, and rather quiet voice spoke up first with just a single word. "Why?" Even that took effort and she coughed up blood, adding another splatter to a floor that he could now see had blood nearly covering it, the different splatters in varying states of drying.

He moved towards the bars of the cell, millimeters away when she spoke up again. "Don't touch them." Cough. "There's an electric current running through them." The guy that had brought her in had hit one of the bars before he'd had the bright idea to turn them off. She'd had a few thousand volts transferred to her body from his. How she'd manage to stay awake through that surprised even her.

He dropped his hand, sighing. "Why?" He decided to answer her earlier question. "Because they would never have been the same. Because I'm sure GA is pulling his hair out at the moment. Because my friends would lose and I'd lose them. Because they care about you more than I ever knew." He said, sounding almost defeated. He sighed again before looking at the others then back to her. "You do realize what a toll this has taken on them, right? It's absolutely horrible to see those videos."

Artemis gave the smallest hint of a nod. "I know. I feel horrible about it." She coughed. "And I do plan on telling them when they wake up." She coughed more, crimson covering the floor. He didn't have to ask to know that she meant telling them about her not really being Green Arrow's niece. He nodded.

"How are they?" She asked glancing at the others.

"Kid Flash, Robin, and I are fine. The fire isn't strong enough to hurt Miss Martian and Aqualad, same with the Kryptonite and Superboy. Zatanna's been drugged but she'll be fine." He paused. "How long do you think you can last?"

"At least a few hours, as long as I don't move much." Her voice was little more than a whisper as she spoke before coughing again. Red Arrow almost winced as he watched her, resisting the urge to turn away. "Can you wake Robin up? They didn't take his computer. We might be able to figure out a way to get you guys out of here."


	10. The Honest

Disclaimer-Sadly, I don't any of the rights to the DC universe, just to my thoughts.

Here we go! So I decided what I want to do, finally, which will make the story like twenty chapters Though, forgive me if I don't quite make it that far... And, as always, don't forget to review!

Warnings-Contains blood, slight torture, and mild language. I think the teen warning should cover the story.

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><p>Robin looked at her through the white lenses of his domino mask, still showing obvious concern. "Artemis…"<p>

"I'm okay, for now." She tried to reassure him. However, looking like she did, sounding like she did, and the coughing didn't help her point. He looked rather skeptical so she continued. "Doesn't matter. Anyway, I think we can find a way to get you guys out." Cough. "What can you find out about this facility on your computer?" She asked, coughing again.

He glanced at her again before waving his hand over his left wrist. The computer popped up almost instantly and he began typing. "It was only abandoned a few months ago because of some freak accident that blew apart the fifth floor. It was built on top of the site of a castle some lunatic built in the 1700's. Well, that explains the dungeon. I found a blueprint, too." He said, pulling it up for him and Roy to look at.

When Artemis spoke up, it surprised them both. "Can you wake the others up? I need to tell you guys something."

**8:48 P.M.**

Six teens stared at her expectantly but also worried. Wally hadn't wasted time in running over to the bars and had been electrocuted before anyone could tell him not to. They all knew better now.

Artemis took a breath before speaking. "Sportsmaster is my father." That news was greeted by an almost collective gasp. Robin and Red Arrow kept looking at her, waiting. Of course Robin knew. He was Batman's protégé, after all. She coughed before continuing. "Cheshire is my sister." Before she could say anything else, a certain speedster cut her off.

"WHAT? Why didn't you tell us? How could you?" Wally's reaction and outburst was predictable. Aqualad, Superboy, and Miss Martian had similar looks of disbelief.

Robin answered for Artemis. "Well, would you have accepted her at first if you'd known?" The four reluctantly shook their heads. "She just wanted to be a part of the Team without having history in the way."

"And just because we're related doesn't mean I'm like them. I also live in Gotham and go to the Academy there." Roy shot her a look of disbelief. "On scholarship. You can ask whatever you want and I promise I'll answer truthfully." Everyone but Superboy had to strain to hear the last part. She coughed again.

Sudden realization dawned on Wally. "You let her go… Your first mission with us. You let her go, didn't you?"

Artemis sighed. "Yes. She threatened to tell you guys. I-I'm sorry." Cough. "I really regret that now." She said, wincing as she coughed again.

"Then, wait a minute." Wally said, thinking again. "So she…" He trailed off. Everyone had realized the same thing.

Artemis gave another tiny, sad nod. It hurt more than just physically, what had been done. "The man you always saw the back of was Sportsmaster." Most of them had guessed as much by now. She sighed before coughing again and looked at her friends, her real family.

Wally looked pissed but concerned and also like he wanted to punch through a wall, all at the same time. Robin looked the most calm but still very concerned. Kaldur looked…tired and worried. M'gann looked sad, worried, and like she really just wanted to hug Artemis. Superboy looked pissed but like a big brother. Zatanna was still unconscious, which didn't look like it would change any time soon. Maybe she imagined it, Artemis thought Roy was looking at her with a little bit of concern.

"Can anyone reach the League?" Artemis asked after what seemed to have been a n eternity of silence, rather unsubtly changing the subject. They all tried their various comm links before shaking their heads. They sighed collectively.

"Artemis, how much do you know about this place? I've got the blueprints but I don't know about who and what's here." Robin spoke to her, once again pulling up the famous holographic computer.

"I overheard some of the guards talking. It sounds like the genomorphs left after they brought us down here. I think some guards left, too. Anyway, I think the majority of the guards are on the floor above us. That's where the videos were taken." She said, coughing. "The rest are dispersed throughout the different floors, about ten on each, so I heard." She coughed again, looking towards the others again.

Robin nodded, adding notes to the schematic he somehow managed to secure. "Alright. We need a plan." The others nodded. "You guys have no powers and we have no weapons. Do guards ever come down here?" He turned to Artemis.

"Dunno. We were all brought down together and it wasn't long before you guys woke up. They'll probably come down again soon, knowing the Shadows." Cough. "Make sure we aren't gone. It's unlikely they'll give us anything. I've been here over a day, nothing." She coughed again as their eyes all widened slightly.

"Alright, but would they open the doors for any reason, you think?" Robin asked, still messing with his computer.

"Well, maybe. It's possible they'll want to use you against the Justice League. Like blackmail, you know. However, I don't think it'll be as bad as what they did to me." She said quietly, coughing again. "They'll mostly give threats, probably, but I don't doubt that they'll follow through. So, basically, yes, to answer your question. They'll threaten you to get to the JL. Me? Dunno. They know you're closer to GA, Roy." He stiffened at the mention of his name. "Depends on what their bosses think. They call themselves the Light. I know that there're seven of them and that my father works for them, not the Shadows like Cheshire." She coughed again.

Robin nodded. "Alright, then we need to get a message to the JL somehow, maybe like you did but it would be too easy. We'll have to see what they try. Then, we'll be able to come up with something." The others nodded in response. "For now, though, we'll have to wait to see what they want with you, Artemis."

"Speak of the devil…" Artemis muttered as the door leading to the floor opened.


	11. The Leader

Disclaimer-Sadly, I don't any of the rights to the DC universe, just to my thoughts.

Here we go! So I would've uploaded this earlier but I was kind of driving between California and Las Vegas so...yeah. Anyway, here it is! And I got another one done, too!

Warnings-Contains blood, slight torture, and mild language. I think the teen warning should cover the story.

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><p><strong>8:56 P.M.<strong>

Sportsmaster walked in, causing almost everyone to turn to see him. Artemis merely looked out the corners of her eyes while Zatanna was still unconscious. Robin found himself instinctively reaching for his utility belt and Red Arrow for an arrow before they let their hands drop into empty space.

"Tried calling your JL buddies yet, kiddies?" Their glares told him that they had indeed. "No signal gets out from this floor, not even one to Batman." He seemed to smile behind the full-face hockey mask. Robin knew this of course, he just had a ton on stuff on his wrist computer, including data on all of the S.T.A.R. Labs facilities. He had access to the Watchtower's internet, of course, but even he couldn't get a signal from the satellite. They were definitely in more than a metaphorical 'dead zone'.

"Well, good, then. But I'm not here for you." He looked at the cell with the seven in it. "_Yet._" They practically heard his smirk. He looked to Artemis. "I'm here for her."

She glared at her father, wishing more than anything that she cold slap him so hard, harder even than he'd done to her. She saw the Team's faces. The five of them, and Red Arrow, were watching tensely, anxiously awaiting Sportsmaster's move. They couldn't do anything, which she could see was the hardest part. It was like watching the videos all over again.

He walked to the cell door and took a remote out of his pocket. There were two buttons on it. One, when pressed, stopped the electric current running through the bars. The second opened the door to her cell. She didn't make a move, couldn't really, just wait. He stepped inside the cell and walked over to her. She coughed in his face.

He wiped the blood off of his mask. "Learn some respect, _daughter._" He practically spat the word as he backhanded her. Stars danced before her vision as her head snapped to the right. She coughed to the side, looking him from the corner of her eye.

"I have respect, just none for you." This earned her another slap, eyes closing briefly but opening once again, stars still before her. She spit out more blood to the left. He kicked her in the side, leaving her gasping for breath and curled slightly to the side. The others winced just watching it.

Sportsmaster bent down towards his daughter. He picked her up, none too gently. The Team's faces tightened as they watched her suppress an audible sign of pain. They could see blood start to make its way out of the mostly closed wounds. She was biting her lip so hard that it, too, started bleeding. She felt so helpless; they all did.

Before he walked out, he turned back to them, everyone imagining a sick smirk under his mask as he spoke. "No guarantees she comes back alive, if at all." The teens' faces grew grim but Artemis tried to put on a brave face. Even though she'd been through hell and back in the last twenty-four hours, she'd try to survive, if only for her friends and not herself. "Oh, and a camera crew will be down in a minute. I suggest you not try anything funny. They'll be armed." He said, finally walking out the door.

**9:00 P.M.**

Not a minute after Sportsmaster had left, five men came down through the door. One had a camera, another had a laptop hooked up to the camera, and the other three machine guns. The small red light on the camera indicated it was recording. They glared at the camera, waiting. The guards said nothing and the one with the laptop was busy typing away on it. They knew words probably scrolled across the video that their mentors were seeing. After about a minute, the camera turned to Artemis's cell, the only evidence of her staying there was the splattered on the floor and the trail of drops leading from the door in then out again and up the stairs. Robin looked closely at the laptop, being able to see the message scrolling across now.

_She's alive. For now…_

He relayed what it said to the others, Roy sighing at the news. Ollie would definitely have just pulled out some hair. They stopped talking as the camera turned back to them, glaring defiantly instead. The crew left after another minute as everyone started talking again.

"What are we gonna do?"

"How are we gonna get out?"

"What about Artemis?"

"What about-"

"One at a time!" Robin spoke up, starting to get a headache. Everyone quieted down with muttered 'Sorry's.

Aqualad cut Robin off, putting a hand on the young boy's shoulder and smiling slightly. "You are ready." He said, Robin smiling back at him even in this tough time. "All in favor of Robin now leading the team?" The vote was unanimous.

"Alright, well the first thing we're going to do is not panic." He said, trying to stay calm for his teammates. "As much as we hate it, we're going to have to wait for Artemis to get back. But, for now, we need a plan. They'll use more videos, I'm sure of it. We need a system that could be figured out by our mentors to relay information." He looked around at everyone as he spoke. "It needs to appear inconspicuous so that the Shadows won't think we're doing anything. Any ideas?"

The seven of them sat, or laid in Zatanna's case, in silence for a while, thinking. Once in a while, someone would say something but it would be too obvious.

"What about tapping our fingers?" They all looked at Wally, meaning for him to elaborate. "You know, just tapping them against the ground. Like this." He demonstrated, tapping his fingers like he was waiting for something.

Robin grinned. "Perfect!" And so they set to work, figuring out exactly how to contact their mentors.

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><p>Well I screwed up. My bad... Anyway, here's the REAL chapter 11. Oops<p> 


	12. The Soldier

Disclaimer-Sadly, I don't any of the rights to the DC universe, just to my thoughts.

Here we go! So I would've uploaded this earlier but I was kind of driving between California and Las Vegas so...yeah. So, here's the other one I promised! And for those of you wondering why chapter ten and eleven were the same, I fixed it. Must've not actually copied chapter eleven like I thought I did. So, yeah. It's fixed. Might wanna go read it. XD

Warnings-Contains blood, slight torture, and mild language. I think the teen warning should cover the story.

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><p><strong>Meanwhile…<strong>

Batman turned off the video screen in the Watchtower. Green Arrow, Black Canary, Red Tornado, Superman, Martian Manhunter, Aquaman, Flash, and Zatara stood behind him, mostly gaping at the screen. Most of the faces of the senior heroes were frustrated, some worried, and some just downright pissed off. Dinah was comforting Ollie, who had a small tuft of blonde hair in his hand, murmuring 'Both of them, now…' Superman, Manhunter, Aquaman, Flash, and Zatara looked at the man in confusion. "Both of who?" Superman asked, turning to Batman.

"Yesterday, Artemis was kidnapped by the League of Shadows." He continued, the shock evident on the faces of the others. "I'll show you the first and last video they sent." He played both videos, everyone in the room getting paler by the second. "We know they intended for her to die and not for the others to find them. We know what they're willing to do, now, so we must remain cautious when we make our move. However, only the Team knows where they are. They did not tell us where they were going. For now, we need to wait and trust them to get themselves out or a message to us." He said, earning a few frustrated looks in return, nonetheless, everyone nodded. "We've got an hour until the next video, so go ahead and do whatever, just be prepared and here in an hour." Again, everyone nodded, heading towards the Zeta-tubes to get home.

Once everyone had left the room, Superman grabbed his best friend's shoulder. The Bat turned to glare at him and Superman took his hand off but still spoke. "We'll get him back." He knew Bruce was worried about his son but the other hero shook his head.

"It's not him I'm worried about. The seven of them will be fine. They'll get a message to us and we'll rescue them." He explained to his friend. He was worried about Artemis. In the state they'd seen her in, everyone knew she had five hours at best. She meant somewhat more to him because she'd been recruited by himself, in Gotham no less. He knew Dick cared about her, too, especially after Red Tornado's 'siblings' had attacked and they'd have to save the Team, Artemis pulling through at the end. Besides that, she'd proven herself in Batman's eyes. Now _that _was saying something. "It's Oliver I'm worried about."

"Ah." Replied Clark. Code for 'I'm actually worried about Artemis.' He knew Bruce wasn't good with showing emotions, except around Dick. That kid brought out the best in the Bat. It really was a good thing he was around. No one wanted to think of how dark the Bat might've become without him.

**Meanwhile…**

Artemis was sitting in a chair in a room on the floor above the dungeons. It was completely dark except for the seven screens arranged in a semicircle around her chair. Figures were shown in white, blurred outlines against blue on the screens, giving the room a ghostly light. She wasn't sure where to look, so she kept her eyes focused on a space behind the screens, staring off into space. Sportsmaster stood behind her.

"What do I do with her? We've captured the others, as requested. The video was just streamed to the Justice League using an untraceable signal, just like the others." He stood there somewhat awkwardly as the figures on screen decided. "She has five hours at best." He decided to add, obviously meaning Artemis.

Finally, the figure in the center spoke. "Leave her. Take her back. Her friends can watch her die."

Artemis scoffed. "Yeah, but you know it's rude to talk about people like they're not here." She said, receiving another slap from Sportsmaster in response.

"Get her out, now." The voice was angry but calm, one of the scariest tones that can be used.

"Still rude." Artemis said, almost growling. Another slap had stars dancing again. Then, she was picked up and carried out. She could make out murmuring voices as they left the room.

"They're definitely troublesome."

"But we can't take them out, yet. The Justice League will have our heads."

"Yes, we must wait."

The voices faded as they left the room. Once back in the dungeons, she was practically thrown into her cell. Sportsmaster kicked her again for good measure and walked out. It was silent for a few minutes as everyone watched Artemis try to catch her breath. She turned to them as much she could. "Hi, guys." Her voice was more scratchy and coughed again. She had paled more than when she left but was still putting on a brave face. "They plan to let me die. They want to kill you guys, too, eventually. But they're going to get as much out of this as they can." She said, barely above a whisper. "So, have you got a plan?"

Everyone tried to focus on the positive and Robin spoke. "Yup. We can use tapping our fingers." She looked skeptical, so he elaborated. "Ok, so you know how on an old phone's keypad, the numbers also correspond to certain letters? Well, we can use that. For example, watch." He tapped out a rhythm. "It's 'hello'. See?"

She smiled slightly. "It's perfect! Even if no one else gets it, Batman will. Who came up with it?" She asked, curious, before coughing again.

"I did." Wally spoke. "I still have an old phone so I use it." His face contorted slightly into worry. "You look worse. What happened?"

"Thanks, Captain Obvious." Artemis responded. Wally looked about to retort but she cut him off before he had the chance. "Well, my father," She refused to call him 'dad'. "Took me to this room with a bunch of screens. There were people outlined on them. I'm pretty sure they were 'The Light'." She coughed again. "Anyway, I wasn't very polite to them so I got hit again." She would've shrugged if she could've. She saw Robin and Roy's smirks. She knew they'd have done the same thing. Wally just looked kind of angry with her. "Anything else I missed?" She asked before he could say anything.

"Um….oh, yeah. I'm officially leader now." Robin responded. "If you're ok with that, because you weren't here for the vote." He added, definitely wanting to her to approve. They were a team; they needed to all be on the same page all the time.

She smiled slightly again. "Definitely. I always did think you'd be a great leader." He blushed slightly and she smirked.

For the next almost hour, they practiced the new system of communication, making sure everyone knew how to use it. Even Artemis could move her fingers enough to effectively use it. To anyone who didn't know better, they just looked bored, which was exactly the point. By the time it was almost ten o'clock, they were communicating silently, having whole conversations about random things, trying to take their minds off of their current situation. They talked about weather, about school, about food, and their favorite movies before the 'camera crew' came in again.


	13. The Prophet

Disclaimer-Sadly, I don't any of the rights to the DC universe, just to my thoughts.

Your reviews make me giddy. XD They're the best food for writing. And kudos to those that figured out that the chapter names were lyrics to 'This is War' by 30 Seconds to Mars.

Warnings-Contains blood, slight torture, and mild language. I think the teen warning should cover the story.

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><p><strong>9:59 P.M.<strong>

All of the heroes that were affiliated with the Team were gathered in the Watchtower. Everyone stood in front of the screen as Batman powered the computer up. As soon as it was up and running, the video appeared. He didn't hesitate to start the playback.

It started with a view of the seven captured teenagers who all simply looked bored, tapping their fingers on the ground. It turned to Artemis, who had much the same bored look, even tapping her fingers. But the heroes noticed how pale she was and all the blood… The camera panned back to the seven others, Zatanna still out. She'd probably stay that way until they were rescued.

Nonetheless, the teens looked bored, sitting against the cell's back wall. Someone with a gun stepped into the picture, everyone tensing, on Earth and in space. The teens stopped tapping. Words scrolled on the screen.

_We won't hesitate to shoot if we don't get what we want._

They shot the wall right next to Miss Martian's head, missing her by an inch. She squeaked and Manhunter's fists clenched. Everyone was wondering the same thing.

What did they want?

In answer to their question, words scrolled along the bottom of the screen.

_Send $50 million to this address. Then leave. We will know if you don't and we won't come out if you do. Leave it under the third bench on the right side. Do it by midnight tonight._

Following the message came the address of the Central Gotham Park.

The sound of faint coughing came through the video. The camera moved to show Artemis's cell again. The archer was coughing out blood to the side. Most of the League members flinched. That explained the blood splatters surrounding her. Green Arrow and Batman's fists clenched.

One of the guards shot into her cell. The bullet barely missed, even less then Miss Martian. She froze, staring at the bullet embedded in the wall next to her, breath caught in her throat. She didn't make a sound but felt all eyes on her.

Everyone heard the next shots before they saw them. Then, a simultaneous intake of breath from the video and two hisses. The camera was still focused on Artemis, where they could see her eyes hut in pain and her right hand clutch her thigh. Blood made its way through her fingers.

_Four hours for her at maximum._

They knew the words were true as the camera panned to the other cell. Wally was clutching his shoulder, blood seeping through his fingers, too. The rest of the teens were torn between looking at him and at Artemis, though most went with glaring at the guards. Flash's fist pounded against the hardware of the computer, though no one could blame him. Words scrolled again along the bottom of the screen.

_Everyone hour you wait, someone else gets shot._

Batman thought for a moment before the video cut out. Surely they would try to send a message, not just look bored tapping their-

"Of course!" Batman muttered to himself, Clark being the only one who could actually hear it. He rewound the video and zoomed in to their fingers before starting the playback again.

"What are-" Green Arrow was cut off by Bats himself.

"Look, their fingers tap in a pattern." Everyone realized it was true. "Now, what is the pattern?" Everyone was quiet for a moment; Dinah even pulled out her cell phone.

"That's it!" She shouted, smiling. Everyone turned to her expectantly. "They're tapping out the numbers on a keypad. The left thumb represents the one, index two, and the right hand represents the other digits. Play the video again." Batman did as she said and she watched carefully. She started to tap on her phone. "Metro. S.T.A.R. Labs. Abandoned. Near _Daily Planet._" She smiled triumphantly, showing the screen around. She had used the T9 setting like she would to send a text message.

"Alright, so who's going to Metropolis?" Batman turned to the heroes. Of course, he already knew what the answer would be. Seeing the teenagers like this would convince anyone of what to do. With the warning of the shootings, they would need to hurry.

"Isn't it obvious?" Superman asked. "We're all going." The others nodded to Batman, who nodded in return, Flash and Green Arrow looking the most determined, though Black Canary wasn't far behind. She always felt responsible for the teens, ever since she'd taken over training. Speaking of which, she would make sure that they had extra training sessions. She knew Batman would have the same idea.

"Then we need to get going." _'Artemis won't last long.' _Batman thought and everyone moved towards the hanger. They would take the Zeta tubes but it would be harder to get everyone back like that. Once everyone else had left the room, Superman put a hand on his best friend's shoulder. Batman turned to give a glare, the hand being immediately removed.

"We'll find them, don't worry." Clark said but Bruce only shook his head.

"I know. That's not what I'm worried about. They seven of them will be fine when we get there." Bruce replied, starting to move towards the hanger.

Clark knew what he meant. He was worried about Artemis. He knew Bruce wasn't very good at expressing emotions but he could tell. Well, that, and the fact that he said seven and there were eight teenagers there. Bruce was worried about Artemis, but only Clark could see that. He and Dick were probably the only people in the world besides Alfred that could tell his emotions.

The two of them joined the others in the hanger. Five minutes later, the Javelin was zooming out from the hanger towards Earth.


	14. The Pariah

Disclaimer-Sadly, I don't any of the rights to the DC universe, just to my thoughts.

I love coming back from something or waking to see my phone telling me I've got a new review. XD Though, seriously, they do make me giddy. :D

Oh, and the chapter title doesn't really relate but I was running out of options because I have most of the other ones saved for certain chapters. XD

Warnings-Contains blood, slight torture, and mild language. I think the teen warning should cover the story.

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><p><strong>10:07 P.M.<strong>

"Think they got the message?" M'gann asked as soon as the last guard had left and the door had closed.

"Better have." Artemis hissed through clenched teeth. Because nine arrows weren't enough, they had to go and shoot her. Then, they had to shoot Wally. The fact that they shot him wasn't what worried her; it was his metabolism. Because of it, the wound could start closing around the bullet, causing for some rather messy surgery when they got back. As for her, the bullet had gone right through a small part of her thigh. It left a hole. A freakin' hole! She could tell there wasn't much damage but it was more the blood that would affect her, or rather, the loss of it.

"Wally, are you alright?" M'gann asked the speedster. She moved towards him instinctively, trying to comfort him.

"Alright? There's a bullet in my shoulder! Of course I'm not alright!" The speedster lashed out, earning glares from the rest of the teens as M'gann backed away. Conner went to comfort her while Robin shot him a glare and glanced towards Artemis, who was also glaring. "Oh, um, right." Wally said lamely before turning to the Martian. "I'm sorry, M'gann. It's just with everything going on…" He trailed off before finishing. "I'm sorry."

The Martian smiled weakly. "I-it's alright. We're all under a lot of pressure." She said quietly, looking at everyone, getting some weak nods in response. From there, they continued to communicate using their made-up way. It was easier for Artemis and it seemed better for Wally because they were worried that he would snap again if he spoke out loud.

They didn't 'talk' about what was going on, just random things, like what pizza they would get when they got back to Happy Harbor. Artemis was 'quiet'. They could see how hard it was just to keep her eyes open. Really, even she didn't know how she'd managed it for so long. So, when her eyes drooped slightly, M'gann suggested she sleep.

"No!" Three voices chorused at once. Artemis, Robin, and Wally looked at each other sheepishly before back at the shocked Martian. They explained that if she did without guaranteed medical help, there was a good chance she wouldn't wake up again. Ever.

"Oh." Was the Martian's only response. Artemis's eyes stayed open more from then on, though they could see the effort in just that. They went back to 'discussing' meaningless things. Artemis 'told' them about some weird kid taking a picture of her on her first day at Gotham Academy, which caused them to all hear Robin's signature cackle.

The mood in the dungeon lightened. They shared stories that made everyone laugh, forgetting at least for the moment where they were. They were smiling and having a good time, even in the face of death. It was something not many people could do but it showed strength. They were strong enough to carry on, to laugh in Death's face.

**Meanwhile…**

It was eerily quiet on the spacecraft making its way towards the earth. No one had spoken since liftoff, which was rather unusual for Flash. Manhunter could feel the waves of anger, resentment, and worry flowing off of him, off of all of them, even Batman. He, too, was worried for his niece. Nonetheless, the silence was deafening. It was crushing them, waiting for someone to break it apart.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, but was only about twenty minutes, someone spoke. "So, what's our plan?" Everyone turned to Black Canary, who was clearly looking towards Batman for the answer. After all, he was the tactician, the real leader. Superman was the face of the League but Batman was the real leader.

"We go in, rescue the Team, and get the Shadows to the authorities." Batman wasn't known for being a chatterbox but he did elaborate slightly. He brought up a schematic of the S.T.A.R. Labs facility. "Canary, you'll take the fifth floor, Tornado, the fourth, J'onn, the third, Superman, the second, Aquaman, the first, Zatara, sublevel one, while Green Arrow, Flash, and I will go to the dungeons. When you've each taken care of your floors, meet back up in the dungeons to help. They might try to use the Team as hostages." Batman's eyes never left the window as he spoke. Secretly, he was also worried, but on the outside, he seemed almost emotionless, at least to most humans, anyway.

It was quiet again as they entered the earth's atmosphere. Most of the heroes were memorizing the schematic when Flash posed a question. "How do you know about the sublevels, anyway?" The others looked between him and Batman, now wondering the same thing. The schematic showed the five levels above ground but Batman had modified it to show the sublevels.

"Based on the dungeon in the video. You could tell by the construction of the walls and such that it was only the second level underground. The facility was built where a castle once stood. A man had wanted to rule America from it but was brought to an asylum and the castle torn down. The design of the castle was modeled after medieval ones, whose dungeons were sometimes two levels down. The first sublevel was used as mostly storage as well as a place that could trap prisoners off at both ends." Batman spoke, still looking through the window and pulling up the history of the facility. It was quiet as everyone read through the history.

No one had realized how much time had passed until the screen showed a new email. Everyone groaned internally as Batman brought the ship to a stop in midair. There was no message along with the video so Batman didn't hesitate to play it.

It opened to the teens, again looking somewhat tense. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out why. A message scrolled along the bottom of the screen.

_Tick tock._

Most of the heroes felt a sense of déjà vu, having seen the same message, but it was written in blood last time. Nonetheless, they felt just as tense as the teenagers.

Everyone flinched when they heard the shot and the immediate hiss that came afterwards. Kaldur was clutching his left shoulder. Aquaman's fist hit the control panel in front of him, much the same way as Flash's.

_If the money isn't there by midnight, they all die._

The camera panned briefly to Artemis, whose eyes had widened slightly, having seen the message on screen. She could count the hours well enough to know what time it was. The camera briefly returned to the other teenagers, who also had similar reactions, having too seen the message.

_Tick tock._

Then, the video cut out again.

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><p>And, yeah, I totally made up the dungeon castle thingy. Hey, it's fiction for a reason and I needed a reason. XD<p> 


	15. The Victor

Disclaimer-Sadly, I don't any of the rights to the DC universe, just to my thoughts.

First chapter of the new year! WOOO! XD

And seriously, I get some creative reviews. They make me laugh XD

And I know I'm not the best at fighting scenes but, hey, I tried.

And, by the way, the story's going to be coming to a close in a few chapters. It's probably going to be closer to 17 chapters than 20.

Also, I'd just like to say that Artemis is my favorite character and I love her. M'gann is actually my least favorite... Just wanted to clear that up XD

Warnings-Contains blood, slight torture, and mild language. I think the teen warning should cover the story.

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><p>The Javelin touched down on the roof of the abandoned S.T.A.R. Labs facility. "Remember the plan." Batman glared pointedly at Flash, being well-known to speed off alone. However, today, he only gave a brief nod. Everyone else nodded in turn as they stepped off of the spacecraft.<p>

"Let's go." With Batman's two words, everyone went to work. They all went to the roof access door. Black Canary went down first, everyone else following in the shadows of the stairwells. They were working their way downwards, until it was just Batman, Green Arrow, Flash, and Zatara. They heard the echoes of canary cries and the thuds of their foes hitting the ground or walls, even the occasional gunshot.

By the time Zatara had left, they heard footsteps from the stairwell. Black Canary had finished her part to join them.

"Much trouble?" Flash asked as they continued.

"Nope. We gave them a little bit of a surprise showing up." Canary responded.

They had made their way to the door that would lead to the dungeons, but that wasn't all that was there.

"Sportsmaster." The name came from all four of the heroes at once. Batman's eyes narrowed through his cowl, as did Flash's and Green Arrow's through his mask. Black Canary's glare could rival the Bat's at this moment. Flash was the only one who didn't know about his 'relationship' with Artemis.

Another figure stepped out from behind the villain, receiving another chorus. "Cheshire." The heroes could swear she smirked from behind her mask.

"I'm afraid we can't let you go any farther." Sportsmaster said, taking out a disc from one of his pockets. Cheshire pulled out three shurikens in each hand.

Everyone was ready for the fight that began not a moment later. When the disc exploded in front of them, Flash was already clearing away the smoke. Batarangs shot out from it, narrowly missing their assassin targets. When the smoke cleared, Batman and Cheshire were hidden in shadow, though the others could hear the almost silent fight going on between them.

Meanwhile, Sportsmaster had pulled out a retractable javelin. He was swinging it towards Flash, who kept dodging around it using super speed. He decided on Black Canary instead but her Canary Cry sent him flying back into the wall.

"Spider, Hook, get out here!" It was no surprise that at Sportsmaster's call, the other assassins appeared. Black Spider went straight to Black Canary, dodging her cries as he leaped from wall to wall. Hook had taken on Flash, leaving Green Arrow to go against Sporstmaster. The latter preferred to use a seemingly infinite supply of discs and javelins to combat the archer's many arrows.

Green Arrow was unleashing volley after volley of arrows at the villain, fury more than slightly evident on his face. "What? You actually _care _about her?" In response, Green Arrow shot off another volley, his irritation with the man growing. "Oh, have I struck a nerve?"

"If you lay a hand on any of them ever again, I guarantee it'll be the last thing you ever do outside of prison." Green Arrow retorted angrily, sending another hail of arrows at the assassin.

**Meanwhile…**

The teens looked up when they heard a thud at the door, some smiling slightly.

"Looks like our rescuers have arrived." Miss Martian said somewhat quietly, looking around at everyone with a slight smile.

"Let us hope so." Aqualad said through clenched teeth. He, and everyone else, glanced at Artemis, whose eyes were about halfway closed. That did not, in fact, stop her from speaking, albeit very quietly.

"I'm alright for a while more." In truth, she knew she only had a bit more than an hour without any medical help. Though, really, almost anything would help. And, honestly, the worst part about this was feeling so freakin' helpless. She scowled, watching the door, waiting.

The rest stared at the door, as well, waiting for something to happen. They were also listening for any sign of what was happening in the fight outside. Who was winning? By how much? Who was actually there? Their mentors? Who else? Anyone else? All of these questions, among others, ran through the heads of the teenagers.

They were quiet for a while after that, simply waiting. No one really knew what was going on the other side of the door, much as they wanted. M'gann wished she could do something to help Wally and Kaldur, get the bullet out mainly. Yet, the torches around the cell prevented her from using her power, causing her to sigh in almost frustration but mostly just sadness.

Another thud sounded against the door again. Friend or foe, they didn't know. The other thing they wondered about was the threat of death from the Shadows. Perhaps they'd be used as shields or hostages. That, or someone would kill them all, probably Cheshire. They didn't know but were really hoping for neither of those. More 'the League comes in and saves everyone' option.


	16. The Messiah

Disclaimer-Sadly, I don't any of the rights to the DC universe, just to my thoughts.

So, this story will be over soon but it'll take a little longer to update because school's starting up again. Bleh .

Anyway, it should only take like a day or two more, so not that bad.

Anyway, here's the chapter. Enjoy!

Warnings-Contains blood, slight torture, and mild language. I think the teen warning should cover the story.

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><p>Another thud, another crash. It was sounding routine by now to the teenagers. It had been at least twenty minutes since they'd heard the first thud. They were getting anxious. Not like you could blame them, though.<p>

Artemis was watching the door through her eyelashes. She wasn't stupid. She knew she wouldn't last much longer. An hour, maybe. She sighed slightly, wincing. Why did staying alive have to be so hard? Dying would be so much easier. All she'd have to do is close her eyes…

No. She opened them a little wider. She wouldn't die, not without a fight. She wouldn't take the easy way out, not if she could help it. Besides, she actually had people that cared about her now. Her death would only be easy for herself. What would happen to the Team? Would Batman make them disband? How would they take it? She knew heroes had died in the League before, but they kept on fighting. They couldn't afford not to. Would the Team be the same way?

That brought another thought to her mind. What would happen to the Team if she still lived? Would Batman make them disband anyway? Then again, would he be able to? She'd heard the story of how the original Team was formed many times, mostly from Wally's bragging. They'd be too stubborn to let Batman disband them. Even if he tried, she knew they'd stick together and get their own missions if they had to.

What about Zatanna and Red Arrow? Zatara was probably freaking out, especially considering how her last mission with the Team went. Maybe she'd join the Team permanently, if her father let her. Even if he didn't, Artemis had no doubt that Zatnna would get out somehow.

As for Roy, she doubted he'd ever join the Team or the League. He'd probably just stay a lone vigilante, like Batman used to be. Besides, he was legally an adult, old enough to take care of himself. And even besides that, he seemed to pretty much hate her. She was his replacement and she knew it. If he ever showed interest in joining the Team, she'd be gone faster than when Wally heard M'gann made brownies.

She sighed again and focused on the door, waiting for whatever would happen next.

**11:37 P.M.**

"Oof!" Flash let out a breath as Hook caught him with his…hook. The man smiled as he watched the speedster pick himself back up. However, the speedster picked up the hook and ran circles around the man it was attached to, effectively tying him up with his own 'hand'. He then gave the man a punch to the temple just hard enough to knock him out. He turned to see how the others were fairing.

Batman was still locked in the almost silent fight against Cheshire, waiting and watching for an opening. He kept dodging her shurikens but she soon switched to her sais. Batman was dodging her strikes rather well. He pulled out a Batarang, using it to block her advances and also make some of his own. However, in the twenty minute fight, neither had received more than five scratches. Neither had found an opening. However, five minutes later, Cheshire was flat on her back with Batman standing over her.

"Focus." Batman said the one word angrily. She'd given him an opening when she'd glanced over as Hook was taken down. He tied her up and looked over to Flash, nodding. They looked over to where Black Canary was fighting Black Spider.

Her Canary Cries sent most of his attempted web traps back at him, though he was able to dodge them by jumping from wall to wall, frustrating the blonde. Soon enough, she had a strategy. He tried again to trap her in webbing but her Canary Cry shot it back at him. He dodged it, moving to another wall, thinking she had missed. And yet, she hadn't missed. Her previous Canary Cry weakened the ceiling, causing it to crash over her enemy and send him to the ground. Soon enough, he was tied up with the others, leaving only Green Arrow to battle Sportsmaster.

Now _that_ was an intense battle. Sportsmaster was almost always on the defensive, something that they all knew would lead to his downfall. Another hail of arrows sent by Green Arrow forced the villain backwards into a corner. He threw more of his exploding discs out but Arrow dodged them almost effortlessly. That's when the battle took a turn.

Sportsmaster stepped back and opened the door that lead down to the dungeons. The heroes followed.

**11:53 P.M.**

The teenagers looked up at the sound of the door opening. They were surprised to see Sportsmaster walk in with Batman, Black Canary, Flash, and Green Arrow following. Sportsmaster made a beeline for Artemis's cell, causing everyone else in the room to scowl. He unlocked the door and went inside, picking Artemis up to use her as a shield. She winced, biting her lip again.

"Let. Her. Go." The concern and anger in Green Arrow and Batman's voice surprised everyone, even the two heroes. Nonetheless, they stepped forward towards Sportsmaster. The villain pulled out a knife and held it against Artemis's throat.

"Make on move and she's dead." He growled.

The trapped archer scoffed weakly and looked towards the heroes, a look of almost defiant defeat in her eyes. "He'll kill me anyway." She said weakly, causing the blade to press into her throat, silencing her as a small line of blood appeared.

Superman appeared behind the other heroes, along with Red Tornado, Aquaman, and Zatara. They froze, seeing the scene that greeted them as they arrived.

The teens were tapping their fingers again, looking almost bored. The heroes knew what they were doing, even though Sportsmaster didn't.

_Where's Manhunt- _The message wasn't finished as the Martian in question appeared.


	17. The Martyr

Disclaimer-Sadly, I don't any of the rights to the DC universe, just to my thoughts.

RAWR

Hi. So, anyway, he's the chapter. Um...

Right! Ok, so after this story is done, which I can make 20 chapters with some fluffy ones, I kinda need ideas for other stories. I was thinking maybe doing other kidnappings for the rest of the Team. Watcha think? KF's would be funny and if you want a certain one, let me know. Anyway, so, yeah. Need ideas. XD

Warnings-Contains blood, slight torture, and mild language. I think the teen warning should cover the story.

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><p>Everyone stared at something behind Sportsmaster, something he didn't notice until too late. Martian Manhunter grabbed the knife against Artemis's throat and threw it away. The masked man immediately dropped the girl, as she served no further use for him. Her legs crumpled under her weight and she cried out quietly in pain. She collapsed to the floor, unmoving and barely conscious.<p>

The other senior heroes wasted no time in coming as Sportsmaster, who had moved out of Artemis's cell. With nine against one, even he couldn't beat them, though he sure put up a fight. He used up all of his remaining weapons before finally giving in. Someone found the remote that stopped the electricity running through the bars, after Flash had grabbed them, and unlocked the cell.

The teenagers immediately went back over to Artemis who was on the floor, looking very ragdoll-esque and with her left leg sticking out at an odd angle.

"Artemis, are you okay?"

The question was magnified a hundred times, as it seemed as though everyone in the room was asking it. The archer in question shut her eyes, getting a headache from all the noise. She felt stupid and helpless, just lying there on the ground, unable to move.

The noise slowly died down and she blinked her eyes open. Everyone was staring at her concerned. Interestingly, Wally was the most concerned-looking, though Batman wasn't far away, which surprised the archer. Then, it was Green Arrow, Miss Martian, Robin, Black Canary, Aqualad, Superboy, and the rest of the heroes.

"Just get me out of here." Everyone was startled at the hoarseness of her voice. The archer coughed again, sending crimson back splattering across the ground yet again. Surprisingly enough, Red Arrow was the one to pick her up, unexpectedly gently.

Batman nodded to everyone, who proceeded out of the dungeons. Wally walked next to Roy and Artemis, still clutching his shoulder. His left hand, the one not clutching his shoulder, grabbed Artemis's hanging left hand. She looked at him in slight surprise. But that wasn't what surprised her the most.

He was crying.

Wally was crying.

He was crying over _her._

She squeezed her hand in his feebly. He looked over to her and she tried to give him a small smile, one with her mouth closed. "Wally…" Her voice was less than a whisper and the fastest kid alive had to strain to hear it. A tear came from her gray eyes, than another and another until she was crying, too.

He squeezed back. "Don't you ever die on me again. Hear me?" He said, voice cracking.

This earned him a weak smile from the youngest archer. "Loud and clear." She said, even quieter than before.

The darkness was calling her. She was saved. There would be no more torture from her sister or father and no more worry about her teammates. At least, not for a while. Her eyes fell slowly closed, the last thing she saw being Wally's tear-streaked face.

Roy had been standing there awkwardly the whole time, just walking to the javelin with the now unconscious blonde archer still in his arms and Wally still holding her hand. He'd never realized how much one person could affect someone else's life. Wally had been so worried about a girl he'd known for a few months. And yet, that was all that it took.

Once back on the Javelin, Artemis was immediately taken to the small medical bay. They couldn't do much more than a basic assessment there, so Batman called in some help.

"Leslie, take the Zeta-tubes in the Batcave to Mount Justice. Use authorization code A-17." He said to comm link. He would take Artemis back to the Batcave but the Zeta-beam travel would almost definitely aggravate her injuries, something he did not want to risk, not when he felt so responsible for her.

Which begs the question not even the Dark Knight himself could truly answer.

Why did he care so much?

Maybe it was because he recruited her to be on the Team herself. That was at least part of the reason, he knew. Maybe it was because she was one of Robin's close friends. (Yes, he had seen the picture Dick had taken on her first day. The kid had made it his phone's wallpaper, much to the curiousness of Barbara Gordon.) Maybe it was because he had a soft spot for the Team. Maybe it was because he never had a daughter. While the last reason was unlikely, he simply put it with the rest of his thoughts to go into storage.

Right now, he had more important things to do than to wonder why.

After all, he was the one controlling the Javelin.

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><p>And, by the way, I totally made up the authorization code. XD<p>

It was the first thing that came to mind.


	18. The Fight is Done

Disclaimer-Sadly, I don't any of the rights to the DC universe, just to my thoughts.

So I was thinking about putting a poll on my profile for what my next story would be. SO, give me some ideas to put on it and then I'll set it up so you can vote! :D

Warnings-Contains blood, slight torture, and mild language. I think the teen warning should cover the story.

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><p>The ride back to the Cave was a quiet one. Everyone was reflecting, whether or not they felt much responsibility. Mostly, they were trying to gauge the emotional damage on the Team. Though, if one looked close enough, they would see that the Team's bond was stronger. Something like this was exactly what could bring people together, a situation that forced them to come together. Besides that, the older heroes could sense that Artemis had revealed something to the Team, a secret she'd been holding. Only Black Canary, Batman, and Green Arrow knew what it was.<p>

Black Canary glanced around at the Team. Zatanna was still passed out on a chair. Red Arrow was standing in a corner, looking rather sullen. The rest of the Team was gathered around Zatanna, more or less. Black Canary thought it was very likely they were having a telepathic conversation based on their changing facial expressions.

Canary was sitting in one of the Javelin's seats, quietly thinking. She'd only known Artemis a few months and yet, she felt a connection to the girl. She knew the girl's secret. After all, she'd known Green Arrow long enough to know he didn't have another niece. But, it didn't matter. Ollie tried to treat her like family, so did Dinah. Truth be told, she really enjoyed being the Team's trainer, as well as counselor. She glanced over to Green Arrow.

The archer was staring straight out of his window, looking angrier than most of the Leaguers had ever seen him. It wasn't Green Arrow who was so unhappy; it was Oliver Queen. He felt horrible about this whole situation, even though it wasn't his fault. Yet, he felt responsible for many of the same reasons as Batman, and more. He was supposed to be her mentor, her 'uncle'. He was supposed to look out for her, to do better than he had with Roy…

The red-haired archer stared into space at nothing in particular. If anyone asked, he was trying to think of the best way to get Artemis's blood out of his costume. However, if J'onn were to read his mind, he'd see anger, slight relief, and…compassion. Now, Roy Harper was not the mushy family type but he did care about people. Well, sometimes. At the moment, he actually cared about Artemis's wellbeing. Why? Well, when you see someone in that much pain for so long and even with them trying to help their friends instead of themselves, it kind of makes you care, at least a little.

J'onn looked over around at the heroes, young and old. The nearly overwhelming emotion he felt from them was mostly anger, though relief wasn't far behind. He couldn't blame them, really. He had been worried for Artemis and the rest of the Team. They couldn't do much for the bullet wounds until they got back to the Cave, so Kaldur and Wally were kind of stuck. J'onn and M'gann didn't want to risk anything for them when they didn't have the supplies to be able to help or stop the bleeding that would likely ensue. After all, they weren't really experts on healing. The Martian looked towards Aquaman where he could sense the worry for his protégé.

The Atlantian was looking in the general direction of the Team. He was focused on the only other Atlantian on the Javelin. He knew Kaldur was in pain and, quite frankly, he was just surprised that the bullet had actually gone through his dense skin. Honestly, that made him worry more. He felt bad and at least partially responsible, like the rest of the older heroes. Though, really, there had been nothing they could've done. After all, Batman had the information from him and some of the others. Even the others that did know what had happened couldn't have helped and he knew that. At the same time, he couldn't help but be at least a little angry with Batman. Seriously, how could he not have told them? The kids were their protégés! He looked over to Zatara, who was looking at his daughter, obvious concern in his eyes.

The magician stared at his daughter. He looked more worried than anything else. The drug must've been really strong to keep her knocked out for so long. He was worried but he'd carried her back himself and the best thing he could console himself with was the fact that she had a pulse. While it was a little weak, it was still there. He felt helpless even though he knew his daughter was most likely fine, as long as it wasn't poison… They'd make sure she was fine when they got back to the Cave. He looked over to the Man of Steel, who was awkwardly looking out the window.

What was he supposed to think? Yeah, he was a little worried about Artemis and the rest of the Team. But, really, he wasn't all that worried. His 'son' was fine, even if he didn't like it. It was still very awkward and he wasn't even sure what to think of the boy. Ok, yeah, he had a clone. That much he accepted. But now he was supposed to treat that clone like family? Uh, no. Sorry. Not gonna happen. While he was brooding, he glanced at the boy in question out of the corner of his before looking around the Javelin again, looking for something else to focus on. His attention ended up on Flash, for some reason.

The speedster was glancing between his nephew and out the window. He knew Wally would have to have surgery to get that bullet removed. His jaw clenched just thinking about it. At the moment, he would've liked nothing more than to wring Sportsmaster's neck. He glanced back at the younger speedster, who was still clutching his elbow and had dried tear tracks on his face. Barry hadn't had any idea that he cared so much about someone on his team. Sure, he'd heard the kid talk about M'gann but they knew it would never happen. And every time he talked about Artemis, it was to complain. Then again, he couldn't say he was surprised. It seemed like that was how a lot of relationships started lately. For some reason, Flash found his attention on Batman before staring out the window in front of the Dark Knight.

All anyone, anyone without telepathic powers that is, saw from the crusader was his normal, rather emotionless front. Whether or not he cared about someone or something, he usually didn't show it. Unless it involved Dick, it was unlikely to get any show of emotion. The knight shook his head slightly, clearing his thoughts as the Javelin entered the hanger of the Cave.

Everyone got off, with Artemis being pushed off on a gurney first by Green Arrow and Black Canary. The Team and Red Arrow followed them to the infirmary where Leslie was waiting.

"I'll look at you two after she's stable." Said the doctor, looking at Kaldur and Wally before bringing Artemis into another room. The two nodded slightly before turning back to the rest of the Team and Red Arrow. The six of them left as Zatanna was carried into another room by Zatara with Batman following. It was obvious they would try to identify the drug used so that they could help her wake up.

The remaining six teenagers went to the living room area, not caring about their bloodstained clothes as they sat on the couches and chairs. Someone turned the TV on. The familiar 'NO SIGNAL' screen greeted them. They sat in silence, watching the almost snowy screen, waiting for some news.

It was another hour before Leslie came out, followed by a rather normal-looking Zatanna. The magician sat with the rest of the Team, who were staring at the doctor. Her clothes had blood on them and her face was slightly grim, or maybe regretful. Either way, the Teens were waiting for the news she would deliver.

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><p>CLIFFHANGER! XD<p> 


	19. The War is Won

Disclaimer-Sadly, I don't any of the rights to the DC universe, just to my thoughts.

Ok, so have I mentioned how much I love reviews? No? Well it's a lot! XD And I also want more ideas for the poll. (I won't write a sequel about her recovery because that's already going to be in this, kay?) So, yeah. Review!

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><p>The six teenagers were looking at Leslie, anxious and a little fearful. Batman and Green Arrow walked into the room quietly, also waiting for the news. It seemed to take forever before the doctor actually spoke.<p>

"Her condition was much worse than what we first saw. She's lost a lot of blood, has muscle damage, and a broken right arm. There is also slight dehydration and starvation but it isn't too serious. Her throat has bruises on it and there is some internal bruising as well. Her costume hid some other bruising and many small cuts. The wound to her stomach is minor and didn't damage much. The bullet wound went clean through with only a small amount of muscle damage." Said the woman, looking rather emotionless, something she likely picked up from Batman as well as just working. "She would've died within the hour if she hadn't been brought back." She paused. "The damage would become worse if she did just about anything from now on." She looked to the two older heroes.

"At the moment, she is still unconscious but we have removed the arrows surgically and bandaged her injuries as well as put her arm in a cast. The best thing to do, to refrain from damaging her muscles any further as well as to offer her full ability to heal, would be to put her in a medical coma." The older heroes' eyes narrowed slightly before Batman nodded. "It would likely last not more than a few days but could definitely last longer. She would wake up on her own when the damage was healed enough. Even after she woke up, I would want her to stay in bed until school starts up again." At that moment, everyone was glad it was winter break. "We left the decision to you."

Batman turned to Green Arrow. He spoke so quietly that the only person other than Green Arrow to hear him was Superboy and even he only got parts of the conversation. Green Arrow seemed like he was trying to disagree with Batman, earning him a few of the Dark Knight's famous glares in return, though he stayed mostly emotionless. Finally, the archer nodded and said something. The two turned back to the doctor.

"Do it." Said the caped crusader. "We don't want to aggravate her injuries any further and she will need the healing time."

The doctor nodded before turning to Kaldur and Wally. "We need to get your shoulders taken care of. Your mentors are already in the infirmary." She said and started to walk towards it, the Atlantian and speedster following.

"We'll make sure the rest of you are alright when they're finished." Batman said, glancing towards the teenagers before sweeping out of the room, soon followed by Green Arrow.

The teenagers looked towards Zatanna, who was leaning on Robin's shoulder, looking relatively tired. "Are you ok?" asked the Boy Wonder.

The magician nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little tired. It was a sedative, nothing else. I'll be fine."

The rest of the teens nodded. They watched the 'snow' channel for a while longer before anyone spoke. When someone finally did, it was Robin

"I wonder what they did to her before the videos." Everyone looked at the younger half of the Dynamic Duo, slight confusion on their faces. "Well, we only got the first video at noon, right?" The others nodded hesitantly. Well, she didn't come home from school the day before, so she was there for at least fifteen hours before the first video. Everything Leslie said that we hadn't seen probably happened in that time period." He said somewhat quietly, thinking.

What _did _happen? Did they try to get information? Was she being a smart-ass? Actually, that one was very likely. Nonetheless, they were worried about what happened.

The blood loss and muscle damage had been expected, what with the whole arrow thing. The broken arm probably happened when she was dropped by Sportsmaster or before the videos. She had also said something about not having been given anything, hence the dehydration and starvation. The throat bruising had definitely happened before the videos and the internal could be before or from when she'd been kicked by Sportsmaster. The external was the same.

The teens sat in silence as they thought about what had happened. No one knew how much time had passed when Wally and Kaldur had returned, each with bandaged shoulders and looking in pain. Painkillers didn't have much of an effect on the Atlantian and the speedster's metabolism burned them up too quickly to actually relieve pain.

"You guys alright?" Robin asked the boys.

"Yeah." Wally said. After all they'd seen Artemis go through, this was minor.

"Yes." Said Kaldur as he and Wally sat down on the couches.

"Did we miss much?" asked Wally, trying to look like he wasn't in pain.

"Not really." Was the Boy Wonder's reply. "We were thinking about what had happened before the videos." The two teens' eyebrows went up slightly. "Well, Artemis had been there at least fifteen hours before the videos started. Based on what Leslie told us about her injuries, a lot probably happened." He said as everyone lapsed into silence once more, some thinking, some listening to the static, trying to drown out their thinking.

It wasn't much later when Leslie came back in and asked to see the rest of them. "And if nothing's wrong, you can see Artemis, if you like." That got everyone up and following her to the infirmary, some more hesitantly than others. Did they really want to see Artemis in her state? M'gann had almost lost the contents of her stomach when they'd finally seen Artemis in person.

About half an hour later, everyone was clear of anything harmful, except for the bullet wounds, and Doctor Thompkins allowed them to see Artemis.

"She's in here." She said, motioning to the first room on the right side of the clean, white hallway before walking away.

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><p>Ah, cliffhangers! XD<p> 


	20. Toward the Sun

Disclaimer-Sadly, I don't any of the rights to the DC universe, just to my thoughts.

Ok, so have I mentioned how much I love reviews? No? Well it's a lot! XD And I also want more ideas for the poll. I'll add the suggestions as they come. So, yeah. Review! And vote! And stuff... Anyway, this looks like it'll be twenty-two chapters, which is more than I originally planned! Whoop! XD

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><p>The teenagers walked into the room quietly, though most of their eyes narrowed. Artemis was in one of those hospital gowns, barely any color having returned to her body. Though, really, that made it worse. It allowed everyone to see how much damage their archer had really taken. Her face was what everyone looked to first. The scratched in message was still there, though it was already starting to scar over. There were dark bruises forming on her face and everyone knew they'd look worse later. Yet, even with the damage, with her eyes closed, she looked almost peaceful.<p>

Her neck was probably the worst thing to see. The marks there looked suspiciously like fingers. They knew they were from Sportsmaster. They could also see the thin line of blood from when Sportsmaster had used her as a shield against the League.

Her arms were completely bandaged up, save for her lower right arm, which was in a cast. The bandages had slight tints of red to them from the blood on the layers below the top ones. Her cast was white without the decorative tape, likely because they wanted to see the color she'd pick, even though it would obviously be green.

There were also a few different IV drips hooked up to her. One, the crimson one, was obviously blood. Another looked like water but was mostly antibiotics to keep infection away. The other was a nutrient solution to help her body recover.

They knew that underneath the thin sheets, her injuries would be almost worse. Her legs would be bandaged much like her arms, as would her stomach. They really didn't want to think about it, so they sat down in the seven chairs that were in the room.

Zatanna was the first to actually speak. "So, what happened while I was out?" She asked, looking around at the group. The question actually startled them and it was a few seconds before anyone answered.

"Well, besides those two getting shot at?" Robin asked somewhat sarcastically.

This earned him a nod from Zatanna, who then bit her lip.

"Well, Robin was voted into becoming official leader." Said M'gann.

This earned a slight blush from the Boy Wonder, who spoke after the Martian. "Then they basically threatened the League. We sent out a message to them."

"How?" asked the magician. For the next while, they showed Zatanna how they communicated now.

"You know, we never did ask who figured it out." Robin said almost thoughtfully. The others just nodded, glad for an excuse not to focus on the comatose archer in the room.

"True, maybe it wasn't Bats." Said Red Arrow, nodding again.

They speculated this for a while, finally deciding on Black Canary. "Well, she probably texts the most." Was the logical argument of Wally. Everyone agreed, though Robin was rather hesitant. Well, it was either Batman or Black Canary, considering Batman's _actual _day job.

It was quiet again for a while until Batman walked into the room. Everyone looked up at him, concerned. Would he disband the Team? Surely he'd at least wait until after the holidays, right? Then again, it was Batman.

An eternity later, the Dark Knight spoke. "The Team will not be disbanded," They looked slightly relieved. "For now. But if anything like this ever happens again, it will be. Understood?" They all nodded at him, even Zatanna and Red Arrow were relieved for their friends.

"Robin, Aqualad, I need to speak with you two." Batman said before sweeping out of the room. The two exchanged glances with the rest of the teens. Did he know?

An hour later, the five teens looked up to see a beaming Robin and slightly smiling Kaldur. "He knew."

The week that followed was quiet. Laughter didn't echo off of the walls. Arguments didn't precede that laughter or proceed it. M'gann didn't bake or cook much. Most of what they ate was microwaveable. Most of the Team was staying at Mount Justice for the holidays to be with their friends. That, and they wanted to be there when Artemis woke up.

Speaking of the archer, there was always at least one person by her bed. They took turns watching, waiting and even talking to her, knowing she couldn't hear them. Sometimes, the Team's mentors would visit, too. Most often, it was Batman and Green Arrow, though Black Canary wasn't too far behind.

M'gann talked about how sorry she was that her Earth-sister had gotten hurt. She talked about how quiet Superboy was and how he wouldn't talk to anyone.

Conner did talk to her, in fact. Most often, he was angrily berating himself for not stopping this even though he couldn't have done anything. He felt so much like a brother to her and the rest of the Team. They were his family, too.

Roy would even talk to her on occasion, mostly about how Ollie was literally pulling his hair out. He also said something about Black Canary actually having cried when she'd come in for a visit.

Zatanna talked about feeling stupid that she hadn't been able to help, that she'd 'let' herself be drugged. She talked about how her dad had grounded her for life, again, for not telling him, but had still let her stay at the Cave.

Kaldur spoke of Atlantis, of his home, of how he missed Tula and Garth. He spoke of how he wished he'd been a better leader for the time he had been. Like everyone else, he wished he could've prevented this whole thing. He said his bullet wound was almost healed completely and that Wally's already was.

Wally was the one there most often. Sometimes he cried, just sat there and cried and talked about how much he missed her. He talked about the decorations M'gann and Robin had insisted on putting up. It was so close to Christmas but it didn't feel like it, not by a long shot. He wished she would just wake up.

Robin was in the most after Wally. He missed her, too. He was almost always berating himself, head in his hands.

"I just wished I'd stayed. Wish I'd said something. Maybe helping with your Algebra 2/Trig homework. If only…"

"Shut up, Dick."

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><p>And yes, I know she didn't know his secret ID. You'll just have to wait... So don't tell me she doesn't know, kay? Just sayin' XD<p> 


	21. To the Edge of the Earth

Disclaimer-Sadly, I don't any of the rights to the DC universe, just to my thoughts.

Ok, so have I mentioned how much I love reviews? No? Well it's a lot! XD And I also want more ideas for the poll. I'll add the suggestions as they come. So, yeah. Review! And vote! And stuff... Anyway, this looks like it'll be twenty-three instead of twenty-two. Good? Yes, I think. Whoop! XD

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><p>Robin jerked up at the hoarse whisper of his civilian identity. Artemis was looking at him, eyes slightly fogging, but still smiling slightly, though she winced as she sat up. Even through his sunglasses, he looked surprised and concerned. "Wha…?<p>

"I said shut up, Dick." Said the archer quietly. Most of her color had returned but she still had injuries under the bandages. The scars on her face were fading. The bruises were discolored in the early stages of healing. Still, she looked much better than earlier in the week, though not good, either.

"How did you? When?" The Boy Wonder stuttered before finally sighing. "How long have you known?" He settled on asking instead.

"You confirmed my suspicions when you were laughing when I told everyone about you taking that picture." She said, still smiling. This made the crusader smile.

"I was hoping you'd find out." He said, talking off his sunglasses to reveal his dark blue eyes still shining with concern even though he was smirking. "How do you feel?"

"Considering I'm not dead, I must be traught." Replied the archer, smirking. This earned another grin from Dick. "But I could use some water."

"Ah, here." He said, handing her the glass that had been sitting on the bedside table, ready for when she woke up.

"Thanks." She said, taking the glass and draining it. When she spoke again, her voice was almost back to normal. "So, how bad am I?" She asked, sighing. "You know, besides the obvious broken arm, bruises, and cuts."

Dick bit his lip and paused before answering. "Pretty bad, actually. Besides the obvious, as you said, there was a lot of blood loss, muscle damage, and internal bruising. Then, later, they saw burns and a cracked rib." He paused again, looking away. "You would've died within an hour if you hadn't been brought back so they put you in a medical coma."

Artemis shrugged, winced, and bit her lip. "Um, how long was I out?"

The Boy Wonder bit his lip. "It's been almost a week." Artemis's eyes widened and cleared. At that, he continued more quietly and looked down. "It's Christmas Eve."

"Crap." Artemis said before starting to laugh. Dick looked at her quizzically.

"What's so funny?" He asked, very confused.

"Did you ever wonder what I was going to do after school?" asked Artemis, smirking. The Boy Wonder shook his head. "Going to get Christmas presents." Dick joined in her laughter before she sighed sadly. "Kind of ironic."

"Hey, if ironic is when things are opposite of what's expected, then is ronic when things are expected?" Artemis blinked at him before smiling and shaking her head.

"I guess." She said with a shrug before wincing. Dick's eyes immediately looked worried again but she shook her head and smiled. "I'm fine, just some internal bruising." He didn't smile. "Seriously? I know you've had worse." This was true. After all, she grew up in Gotham and knew of many of the Dynamic Duo's stunts, even ones the public didn't, mostly thanks to her father.

"I know. It just sucks seeing anyone like this." He said, glancing away for a moment before he looked back at her with an evil smirk. "I think I'll go get Wally." He said, standing up.

Artemis's eyes widened but her blush was mostly hidden by the bruises on her cheeks. "No! I mean, not yet, please?" She said, grabbing onto his jacket with her left hand, wincing slightly again, and looking rather pathetic in Dick's opinion. Then again, it was hard not to look pathetic the way she was.

"Fine, but I won't wait much longer." He said, sitting down as she let go of his shirt. "He'll kill me when he finds out I didn't tell him right away."

Artemis smirked. "If anyone's going to die, it'll be me." Dick's eyes widened slightly, causing Artemis to shake her head and laugh. "No, I mean Roy will kill me." The Boy Wonder looked confused. "He's not too happy with my almost death. It's because he cares about you guys. A lot." Artemis looked away, biting her lip, and trying to look like she thinking. Why did Roy hate her so much?

"Oh, she's awake." They jerked to look at the door to see Roy, Dick managing to put his sunglasses back on before doing so, though. Dick looked at his watch and his eyebrows went up slightly in surprise.

"I hadn't realized that much time had passed." The Boy Wonder said quietly before looking back at Roy and standing up then glancing at Artemis. "You don't want me to tell the others, do you?" It was almost more of a statement than a question.

The blonde archer shook her head. "Give me five minutes, kay?" Roy raised an eyebrow at the conversation of the two. "Just one question, alright?" Asked the younger of the two archers. Dick nodded and left, closing the door behind him. Once he was gone, Roy turned to her.

"What's this about?" Roy asked, crossing his arms. For once, the guy was dressed in civilian clothes. Not surprisingly, this included a red jacket, black shirt, dark jeans, and red Converse.

"Like I said, I've got one question." Artemis said evenly.

"Well, are you going to ask it?" Roy asked, almost glaring at her.

"Why do you hate me?"

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><p>I love ending stories with questions! XD<p> 


	22. We Will Fight to the Death

Disclaimer-Sadly, I don't any of the rights to the DC universe, just to my thoughts.

So, I've decided to shut up on the chapter thing because it keeps becoming longer. Just expect at least 24 chapters, which means I'm running out of title names. .

Oh, and for my note at the end of last chapter, I meant chapters, not stories, obviously. XD I was just too lazy to change it.

Anyway, Hope you enjoy! Don't forget to review and vote! I added a sequel option but I'm not telling you what it would be about. It would, however, change the last few lines, or add I should really say, of the story. So, I'm going to need a decent number of votes before I finish the story.

I think that's about it... Enjoy!

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><p>Roy's eyebrows went up and he looked very surprised. "What are you talking about?"<p>

"You've got to be kidding me. You've been nothing but rude to me and can't seem to accept that I'm not like my family." Artemis said, folding her arms, managing not to wince as she did so, matching the older archer's glare.

The redhead sighed and sat down in the chair that had been vacated by Dick. "Ok, first thing, I don't hate you, never have." Artemis's eyes narrowed. "I just didn't particularly like you. I knew you weren't related to Ollie. I mean, seriously, I've known him for a decade and met almost all of his family. When I found out about your real family, I certainly didn't trust you.

"And honestly," He wasn't honest with many people, but he figured he could be with her with this. "I think you're a better addition to the Team than I would be and I might have been, maybe a really, very, very small bit jealous." He said, shrugging. "Just don't expect me to admit that to anyone else." He said, smirking. He was telling the truth. He was more likely to be a downer than to actually be of much help to the Team. Besides, he was more of a solo hero now.

Artemis matched his smirk. She was kind of glad to hear him say that, if she were being honest. "I can't say I'm surprised." She said, smirk falling when she heard footsteps. "Looks like five minutes is up. Enemies again?" She smirked again, holding out her hand and again managing not to wince.

"Enemies." Roy said, smirking and shaking her hand.

The next second, the door burst open. Six teenagers rushed in around Artemis, though the youngest was smirking instead of looking relieved or worried.

"You're awake!"

"How are you?"

"Are you ok?"

Artemis held up a finger, silencing them and wincing slightly as she rubbed her temple with her other hand. "I'm fine, just one at a time, please. You're giving me a headache." She said, smirking slightly.

"How do you feel?" M'gann asked, looking worried.

"Again, I'm fine. Really. Just a little bruised, you know. Comes with the job." She said, shrugging and hiding the wince that came with it. "Hey, so how long am I stuck here?" She asked to no one in particular.

"Until school starts again, so next Tuesday." Robin said, still smirking. "And I told Leslie you're awake, too, so she should be in here in three, two..." As he was about to say 'one', the aforementioned doctor walked into the room.

"Ah, good. You're awake." She said, everyone parting to let her through to see the monitors set up around the blonde archer. "Everything looks normal. I still want you here, resting as much as possible before school starts again." She said, looking at Artemis again, who nodded. "Good, now I'm sure you've got some things to talk about." She said. As she walked away, the teens could swear they saw a small hint of a smile on the woman's face. "Oh, and what color would you like on the cast tape?" She called back.

"Green." Everyone answered at the same time, sending them all into laughter, even Roy.

After a while, everyone quieted down. Robin's face became serious, as did everyone else's when they heard what he said. "Do you want to tell us what happened before the videos? If you don't want to talk now, that's fine but Batman will want to know." He said somewhat quietly but also loud enough for everyone to hear him. The seven of them turned to Artemis expectantly. She sighed.

"Alright, if you really want to know. I'll start from after school Friday. I was on my way to the mall. I took a shortcut, one I take a lot. It was through an alleyway near my home. Not sure how they knew, but my father and sister knew I would be there. They jumped me, knocked me out before I could react." She paused.

"That was the last thing I remember before waking up probably a while later, dunno how long. The only difference between what you saw and then was that the gag wasn't there. They tried to get me to tell about you, mostly the secret identities." Roy's eyes narrowed. "Oh, chill. I didn't say anything. I was practically raised on pain." She said, looking rather pissed off at the memory.

"Unfortunately, strangling is one of my father's favorite techniques for interrogation." Artemis said, folding her arms and again hiding her wince. "I know the bruises are there. He also likes trying to burn confessions out of people. Didn't work." She sighed before continuing. "Then he kicked me a few times, hence the cracked rib. Then, Cheshire tried to get the information by cutting me up, rather strategically." She scowled as she continued.

"Again, didn't work. Then Sportsmaster snapped by bow and sent the pieces out. Then, they tried the first arrow. I still didn't say anything. All of that took at least probably five hours; I must have been out for the rest of the time. It seemed like they gave up trying to get the information out by then. I think they really did just want you guys to see everything, feel helpless." She hesitated again before saying her last sentence and more quietly than before. "I think they just wanted to break you."

The reactions varied between shock, anger, sadness, concern, and near indifference, though the last was reserved for only Roy. Wally looked the most angered by her account. "Just don't go after them. At least, not alone. Alright?" The teenagers nodded rather reluctantly. "Ok, so now let's focus on the matter at hand." They looked confused and Artemis shook her head and face-palmed before M'gann slapped her forehead.

"Hello, M'gann! It's Christmas Eve!"


	23. The Civilian

Disclaimer-Sadly, I don't any of the rights to the DC universe, just to my thoughts.

So, I ran out of chapter names that fit because I still have on in mind for the last chapter...

Anyway, sorry about how long it took to get out but it's a long, fluffy chapter! Gotta say, not a M'gann fan so when I had to write that at the end of last chapter, I wasn't real happy (*cough* main reason of dislike *cough*).

But, enough of my ranting, enjoy the fluffiness!

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><p>Artemis smirked. The smell of a home-cooked meal wafted through the cave. Dinah walked in, followed by Ollie, Batman, Aquaman, Zatara, J'onn, Barry, and even Superman. They had rolling carts of food with them and were all dressed in civilian clothing, Batman still wearing sunglasses, as only the older heroes, Dick, Wally, and Artemis knew, though the man himself didn't know about the last one.<p>

"Merry Christmas Eve, everyone!" Dinah said, grinning. The teenagers looked a little surprised, but only just barely, except for Robin. He was smirking. Standing behind everyone, he held up a communicator, and seeing it caused Artemis to smirk, too.

"We're all glad you're awake, Artemis." Dinah said, still grinning. The other heroes agreed with her, though she had to nudge some.

"Thanks, I guess." The youngest archer said. "So, we gonna eat or what?" Most of the people in the room laugh and Artemis could've sworn she saw Batman's lips tug up in an almost smile.

An hour later, everyone was sitting in Artemis's room, except for Conner and M'gann. The Kryptonian walked in not much later, carrying a Christmas tree and the Martian followed, levitating boxes of decorations. She was grinning so widely, it was hard not to look away.

"We figured we'd probably be spending Christmas in here, Artemis. So, we wanted to set the tree up here!" the cheerful redhead said. Conner had put the tree down in the only unoccupied corner in the room and M'gann was already stringing lights on it.

Artemis smiled sadly. "That's great and all but I don't really have anything for you guys." She said, biting her lip. Now she felt kind of bad, even though she knew it wasn't her fault. Nonetheless…

The teenagers, most of them, just laughed. "Seriously, that's what you're worried about? You almost died and you've been in a coma for a week and _that's _what you're worried about?" Wally asked, shaking his head and coming over to stand next to her, soon followed by the others, except for Roy. Wally held her hand and they enveloped the archer in a group hug. The adults were looking on, some smiling slightly, thinking the moment was sweet.

Artemis winced but still smiled. When they broke away, she winced again. "Well, yeah, actually. That was what I was worried about." She smirked at Wally, definitely okay with holding his hand. She could see Robin smirking behind the rest of them. Almost everyone had this face like 'Took long enough', except for Batman, but that was no surprise.

"Anyway," M'gann went back to decorating the tree. "I'm really excited for my first Christmas." She turned to grin at her team again. "Especially to spend it with you guys." She turned back to the tree, humming a song she must have found online.

Artemis looked down again, thinking. She really did feel bad about not having anything to give the Team and Zatanna, maybe even Roy. She sighed, causing Wally to look at her, slight concern in his eyes. Everyone else had gone back to their seat but Wally had sat on the side of her bed. She shook her head. "It's nothing." Though, honestly, she'd rather spend the moment with just her friends, her 'family'.

Dinah seemed to understand her thoughts. "Come on, let's leave them be." She said, leading the older heroes out of the room. She was last to leave. "You're welcome." She winked and left.

"There!" M'gann put the star on top of the tree using telekinesis, as she wasn't tall enough. Everyone turned toward the tree. It sparkled with light and glittered with silver ornaments. The star was also silver and it reflected the light of the room back at everyone.

"It looks great, M'gann." Zatanna said, smiling. The others nodded in agreement, even Roy.

"Hey, Roy, you staying for tomorrow?" Wally asked, looking over at the archer whose hand he wasn't holding.

The aforementioned redhead shrugged. "Why not? Not like I've got anything better to do." He muttered the last part to himself.

Artemis bit her lip. "Ok, not to sound rude or anything, but I want to tell you guys stuff individually. And, if you want to ask me stuff individually, then that works, too. Is that alright with you guys?" She asked, looking a little nervous.

Robin shrugged. "Alright. That's fine, right, guys?" He said, looking around. He got nods and shrugs in return. "Then, we'll wait outside?" Artemis nodded. "Alright, let's go." It was rather obvious that they planned on letting Wally go first, considering the fact that he was already sitting on her bed and holding her hand.

Once the door closed, Wally turned to her and hugged her. Initially, it surprised Artemis, but, hiding her wincing again, she returned his hug as best she could with her cast. She felt her eyes prickle with moisture. She hated for people to see her cry, hated for people to see her weak.

When Wally pulled away, she saw the tear tracks that were made down his face. "I thought we might have lost you." He said, voice cracking on the last few words. "I hated that feeling of helplessness. All we could do was watch as…" He didn't finish and more tears rolled down the speedster's face.

"Wally," Artemis said, smiling somewhat sadly. "I don't die that easily." And then she kissed him. It was slightly awkward, like the hug, because of her cast, but she reached around his neck, holding onto him like a lifeline. He returned the kiss, hugging her as best he could, while trying not to hurt her.

Eventually, they pulled away. They wiped away the tears on their faces. "Just don't ever do that again." Wally said, holding onto her, still. She nodded. As soon as they looked normal, evidence of the tears gone, Wally walked outside to send M'gann in.

The Martian girl walked in and immediately hugged the archer. "Artemis!" The archer winced rather visibly. M'gann seemed to forget she had super-strength for a moment.

"M'gann…need…to…breathe…" Artemis said hoarsely. The Martian immediately let go and started apologizing. "It's ok, just sore." She said, smiling slightly. The girl was sweet and meant well but she was kinda clueless.

"Anyway, I'm really glad you're alright. We were all so worried. And Superboy wouldn't talk to anyone, neither would Wally. Robin was on his wrist computer most of the time. Kaldur was really quiet and he went swimming a lot. Zatanna and I talked a lot about you. We were really worried. Even Red Arrow stayed around, though he pretty much kept to himself…" She trailed off.

Artemis laughed, causing the Martian girl to look rather confused. "Wow. When did I become so important?" M'gann looked rather surprised but soon joined in the archer's laughter. "Anything you wanna know, then?"

The Martian thought for a moment before shaking her head. "Nah, not really. I just wanted to say how glad I was to see you doing well." She grinned before walking out of the white room.

Conner walked in, angsty-looking as ever. His fists were clenched as he sat in the seat next to her bed. "I-I'm glad you're alright." He said, looking down.

"Conner, are you okay?" Artemis said, looking at him with concern. And yes, she did see the irony in this situation.

The clone didn't look up. "It's just…you guys have been my family and I really don't want to lose any of you…" He looked up when he felt Artemis's hand on his, obviously a friendly gesture. She was smiling at him.

"I'm not going anywhere, not for a long time." She said, still smiling. What happened next surprised the Kryptonian. She reached over and, awkwardly, hugged him. At first, he stayed stiff before returning the hug.

"Thank you." He whispered, leaving both of them rather surprised. He got up and left because he knew if he stayed much longer, he might, dare he even think it, _cry_.

Zatanna was the next one to walk into the room. She was biting her lip, looking nervous. She took the seat Conner had vacated. "I'm sorry!" The magician blurted out before Artemis could say anything, leaving the archer looking confused. The dark-haired girl continued. "I couldn't help anyone. I wasn't even awake…" She trailed off, looking pretty depressed and not at Artemis.

"Zatanna, that wasn't your fault. If anyone's to blame, it would be me for being so stupid to get caught…" Artemis trailed off, looking down at her lap where her hands had folded. She really did feel like this was her fault, because it was. If she hadn't been so stupid, had fought back, hadn't let surprise give them the advantage…

"It doesn't matter." Zatanna's voice jolted her from her thoughts. "What matters is that we're all safe, together, and we're spending Christmas together." Artemis looked up at the smiling girl and smirked.

"Do you have any idea how corny that sounded?" She asked, causing the younger girl to smirk. "Um, thanks for coming to rescue me, sorta." She said the last part because things hadn't gone exactly to plan.

The magician smiled. "What are friends for?" With that, she left the room.

Kaldur walked in to take the seat Zatanna had left. He looked, well, just plain sad. He looked like he blamed himself for everything that happened. "I am sorry, Artemis. We were not able to rescue you and we almost got ourselves killed." He said, looking down.

Artemis sighed. "You guys have got to stop apologizing. Like I told Zatanna, if it's anyone's fault, it's mine for being stupid enough to get caught." At her words, Kaldur looked up. He opened his mouth to say something but the archer cut him off. "Yeah, yeah. I know that's not what matters. So, let's just forget about that, at least for now."

Kaldur hesitated before nodding. "Though I do have a question, Artemis."

She almost said 'shoot' but, remembering the events of recent, decided not to. "Go ahead."

"Your mother, she was Hutress, wasn't she?"

The question, while not entirely unexpected, did catch Artemis by slight surprise. "You know, I was almost waiting for someone to make the connection… But, yes. She was, was being the operative term. She-she's in a wheelchair now. Took the fall for something her and my father were in.

"That was more than six years ago. She got out of jail a few months ago. She wanted to straight and wanted me too, as well. I never wanted to kill people so that was all fine with me, considering the only reason I hadn't done something before was because of my father. She kicked him out and I got that scholarship. And well, you know the rest." She said, shrugging.

Kaldur just nodded. "Alright." He stood up. "And Artemis," He looked back at the archer as he started to walk away. "I really am glad you are alright." Without a chance for Artemis to reply, the Atlantian walked out.

Roy walked in next, hands shoved into his pockets. He didn't bother to sit down or even to look at the other archer. "Got any questions for me, Roy Joy?" Artemis asked, smirking.

He looked up at the nickname, obviously surprised before smirking. "Roy Joy? Really?" He shook his head. "That the best you got, Arty?"

"I'd punch you if I could." Artemis said, smirking.

"Just get better, kay?" Said the redhead as he walked out. Artemis could hear the smirk when he'd spoken.

The boy Wonder walked in, smirking. As soon as he closed the door, he took off the sunglasses. "Remind me to thank Bruce for the scholarship sometime." Artemis said almost thoughtfully. Dick smirked.

"Will do." He said, sitting down on the chair. "I really am glad you figured out my identity, though." He shook his head and cackled his signature cackle. "If you hadn't figured it out after this, I would've thought you were pretty clueless." He said, smirking.

In reply, Artemis stuck her tongue out at him, not caring about how childish it looked, before laughing. "I'd had my suspicions; you simply supplied the proof I needed." She said, still smirking.

"So, we should hang out sometime. Not like I don't have money to go to movies or something." He said, smirking. "And of course I mean as friends."

"No duh." Artemis said, smirking. She yawned.

"Go to sleep. It's late." Dick said before smirking again. "Besides, I have no doubt that at least one speedster is going to be up rather early in the morning." He stood up to leave, putting on his sunglasses.

"And Dick?" The Boy Wonder turned around. "Thanks for not listening to my messages." He smiled and left, turning off the light. Almost as soon as it was dark, the, surprisingly, exhausted archer fell asleep, smiling.

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><p>Don't forget to review and it looks like my next story will be a sequel! Only probably two chapters left! . Might take a while because they're going to be FLUFFY! XD<p> 


	24. From the Last to the First

Disclaimer-Sadly, I don't any of the rights to the DC universe, just to my thoughts.

Ok, ok. I know. This was lame for taking so long... I was busy with other stuff and school and bleh.

Anyway, it's a fluffy chapter so yay ^-^

And I'm pretty sure, read probably, that there's only one more after this. But not more than two, probably.

And yeah, I ran out of titles... .

And (used that a lot today...) I will write the sequel but there's going to be another story out first cuz it's an idea stuck in my head.

Enjoy!

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><p><strong>5:03 A.M.<strong>

"WAKE UP! IT'S CHRISTMAS!" Wally's voice hit everyone as he ran around the Cave, knocking on doors and shouting at the inhabitants on the other side. He stopped in front of the door to Artemis's room, hand still raised in a fist in front of the door. Should he really wake her? However, considering the fact that the Christmas tree was in the room with her…

Before he could decide whether or not to knock, the door burst open and six teenagers jumped out t him. He did the only logical thing he could think of.

He squealed.

Seven voices of laughter echoed back at him. "Nice face, Baywatch." Artemis said, still in her bed. She was smirking.

"Wait-when-how-What?" Wally sputtered.

"Like we didn't expect this?" Robin asked, still laughing. "I thought it would be pretty funny to surprise you." He said, cackling. The others just smirked behind him.

Wally pouted. "No fair."

"Oh, shut it, Baywatch." Artemis said as their mentors, with Black Canary, walked up behind Wally, most of them smirking.

They all walked in, Wally still pouting. They looked towards the tree immediately, almost as if by childish instinct. Presents littered the space under it, stacked sometimes three high. Almost everyone was smiling.

"Presents!" Wally said rather loudly, grinning.

He bent down towards the tree and in a flash, everyone was holding a present, Batman looking rather surprised. His was covered in Batman wrapping paper and Robin was grinning.

Artemis and Roy were holding presents wrapped in Green Arrow wrapping paper. Conner's was covered in 'S's. M'gann's had Martian Manhunter-styled wrapping paper. Wally's had Flash wrapping paper. Zatanna's had magic wands on it. The mentors' presents matched their protégés in style, though Black Canary's was wrapped with birds.

"They're all from Robin, if you guys couldn't guess." Wally said, causing everyone to turn to the grinning Boy Wonder, who did not have a present in his hands.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Open them!" Said the youngest member of the Team.

Everyone complied and immediately ripped open the gifts, only to groan afterward. Everyone took out ornaments, each with the best picture Robin had been able to find of the mentors and protégés. Even Superman and Conner's had a decent photo, though it was probably Photoshopped, of the two almost smiling.

"Oh…thanks…Robin…" It was the mumbled thanks of almost everyone there. The Boy Wonder just smirked.

"Alright, then." Wally said, standing up. In another flash, all of the teenagers were holding presents. After that, everyone just opened whatever presents Wally had given them, thanking the person they were from.

By the time they'd received gifts from their mentors, and Artemis suspected Batman had forced Superman into doing so, Artemis felt pretty bad. She'd had nothing, _nothing_ to give to anyone. She looked down, biting her lip.

'_It's alright, Artemis.' _At M'gann's voice in her head, the archer looked up and around to see the smiling Martian.

'_Doesn't mean I can't still feel bad. I don't even have anything for you guys and you saved my life.'_

'_You still being here and alive is all we need.'_

'_M'gann,' _Artemis smirked slightly. _'Do you have any idea how corny that sounded?'_

The Martian smiled. The general chatter that now existed in the room was dived between the adults and the teenagers. As if by some invisible pull, the seven of them came to sit next to or on Artemis's bed.

"You guys suck." Artemis said, folding her arms. They looked at her with raised eyebrows. "I don't even have a freakin' card to give to you people." M'gann opened her moth but Artemis continued before the Martian girl could say anything. "And do not say being here alive is enough, cuz it's not." M'gann smiled sheepishly.

"So, do you want us to take your presents back?" Robin asked with a grin.

"Never said that." Artemis said, smirking as everyone laughed. In her head, Artemis was trying to think of a way to make it up to them, for both saving her life as well as the Christmas gifts. Of course, it would have to be at least a week, maybe even two before she would get the chance.

Artemis groaned, realizing something. They looked at her quizzically. "I guess this means I'm benched for the missions for a while." There was a moment of silence before they burst into laughter.

And so, for the next week around the Cave, spirits were light-hearted and almost all time was spent in Artemis's room in the infirmary. They joked around a lot, flipped through the channels on TV, often making fun of the ridiculous shows on MTV. One day, Artemis had suggested they watch a Disney movie and everyone but Roy jumped in with their favorite for suggestions.

They watched many Disney movies that week. Artemis will swear to this day that she saw Roy tear up during _Lion King. _

By the end of the week, Artemis's cast was green and had everyone's signatures, even some of the League's, though not signed, of course. But Artemis could tell which was which.

And all too quickly, Monday had arrived. Dr. Thompkins allowed Artemis to get up and walk around a bit to make sure she would be okay for school the next day. They double-checked her out before finally letting her have free roam of the Cave again around noon.

The teenagers were all eating pizza for lunch; Wally had picked a few up earlier. Artemis was starting to get used to doing things were her left hand instead of her right, as she knew she would need to for a while. Leslie had already given her a note for school. The story was that she'd skiing with some friends and had fallen, breaking her arm in the process.

Everyone else was fine, Kaldur and Wally's wounds already having healed. There was still a little emotional trauma, coupled with the training exercise not all that long ago in everyone's minds. But, Black Canary was still helping them. By the time it was February, she was sure the teens would be fine. They were tough, never letting anything keep them down for long.

Artemis was still trying to convince Batman to let her go on the missions, at least staying on the ship.

"No." replied the Caped Crusader.

"Please? Come on. I don't even have to go down. Can't I just listen in from the Bio-Ship? Please?" Artemis tried to reason with the man wearing the cowl.

"No."

"But-"

"No."

"Can I at least say thank you, then?" Batman looked the slightest bit surprised.

"What for?" He asked gruffly.

"The scholarship." Artemis walked away before the man could surprise, though she heard his mouth snap shut, causing her to smirk as she walked away.

"How'd it go?" Robin asked, joining her as they walked back to the living room.

"He said I couldn't go on the missions. But I thanked him for the scholarship and left before he could say anything." She said, still smirking.

Robin cackled in response. "Bet he wasn't expecting that one." He sighed slightly but still grinned when he spoke next. "I get the feeling a lecture is coming my way tonight."

Artemis shrugged. "Wouldn't be surprised. Just make sure he knows you didn't tell me, though I gotta say, he knew it would happen sometime, didn't he?" She asked, glancing at the Boy Wonder.

"'Course." He responded, arms folded behind his head. "Bats know everything, including the fact that you're not a total idiot." He said, smirking.

Artemis paused for a moment before asking a question. "So….does this mean I can some see the Bat Cave?" She asked with another smirk.

In response, the dark-haired teen cackled. "I'll see what I can do."

By that time, they'd reached the living room. Everyone's mentors were there, Batman having gotten there before them somehow, as well as the other six teenagers. It was time for everyone to go home, with the exception of M'gann and Conner, seeing as how they already _were_ home.

"Artemis, Green Arrow will accompany you home." Batman said blatantly, though she could swear there was the smallest, tiniest hint of a smirk on his face. A glance at Robin confirmed it.

But, she simply nodded.

A half hour later, Artemis, Roy, and Ollie were at the door of her apartment. Artemis knocked and the door immediately opened, showing her mother's worried face staring up at them from her wheelchair.

"Um-" Artemis started to speak but was cut off by her mother.

"Don't you ever do that again, Artemis. You had me so worried." Tears started to make their way down the old woman's face, giving the sign for Ollie and Roy to leave. Artemis nervously walked into her apartment and shut the door behind her. She turned back to face her mother.

"I'm sorry, Mom." The archer said, leaning down to, awkwardly, hug her mother.

A while later, they broke apart. Her mother wiped the tears off her face and put on a smile. "Come on. You've got presents."


	25. A Brave New World

****Disclaimer-Sadly, I don't any of the rights to the DC universe, just to my thoughts.

Ok, I know this isn't as long as I would've liked it but...you're gonna have to live it XD

Anyway, I've just got an epilogue after this, then I'll finish up a story demanding my attention in my head before I start the sequel. Good?

And, by the way, the epilogue will kind of start the sequel.

Enjoy!

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><p><strong>7:03 A.M.<strong>

Artemis walked through the gates of Gotham Academy, frowning slightly. She wasn't too thrilled to be back to school, especially when she had a cast on her arm. She tried to avoid the slight staring that was received as she walked through the courtyard. She looked for a friendly face, maybe even that redhead if she couldn't find Dick.

Luckily, she spotted his dark hair the same time he spotted her. He waved her over and she immediately walked over to join him. As she got next to him, the redhead he always seemed to be around popped out from behind a tree.

"Artemis, right?" She asked, holding out her hand. Artemis took it a bit hesitantly. "I'm Barbara, Barbara Gordon." She glanced at Dick. "He says you guys are good friends from some extracurricular." Artemis had to hold back a smirk.

"Yeah." Artemis replied lamely.

The rest of the school day passed without incident. Everyone was still out of it form coming back from break, even the teachers. Artemis couldn't be more happy to get back to the Cave once she'd come home and changed.

When she Zeta-beamed into the Cave, Batman, or rather, Bruce Wayne, as his cowl was down for the moment, was waiting for her. He was smirking, as was Robin, Dick Grayson, by his side, mask off.

"What? Did I win a prize or something?" Asked the archer, raising her eyebrows.

"Something like that." Dick said, grinning.

"Here." Bruce tossed her something, leaving Artemis to awkwardly catch it with her left hand. It was keychain with a green arrow, much like the symbol on her costume, as well as a key engraved with 'WM', her motorcycle key, and what looked like one of those things on the ends of car keys that let you unlock the car electronically.

At the quizzical look Artemis gave him, the man continued. "The other key is for Wayne Manor. The other is a remote to get into the Batcave, like a garage door opener. Dick can explain more later." When he finished speaking, he pulled his col back up and made for the Zeta-tubes.

_Recognized Batman 02_

And then he was gone. Artemis looked back to the grinning Boy Wonder and smirked. "How did you get him to give me this?"

"Logical arguments." Said the younger teen. "Actually, he was thinking about doing it anyway, if for nothing more than extra training."

"Huh? So Bats does have a heart." Artemis said, still smirking.

"You're probably his second favorite one the Team." He said before adding, "Besides me, of course." He grinned.

At that, the other members of the Team came into the cave, Artemis quickly stowing the key in a pocket. They were all pretty happy to see Artemis even though it had only been a day.

_Recognized Black Canary 09_

As Dinah walked in, she was smirking. She was also holding a bag. The teenagers looked at her curiously. She tossed them all videogame controllers. They looked more confused. "Hand eye coordination training." They all joined her smirk, though Conner and M'gann still looked a bit confused.

For the next few hours, they played videogames, switching players sometimes. To everyone's surprise, Artemis mercilessly pounded them all, even with her cast, though Robin was also very close to her skill lever. Dinah even played, beating the other four, much to their surprise, especially Wally's. Though, Conner did manage to break a few controllers. But Dinah had come prepared and had brought extra controllers. Ten extra, in fact, and everyone single one was used.

_Recognized Batman 02_

"Team, I have a mission for you," said the man, sweeping into the room. Artemis glanced at Robin, and, sharing a brief smirk, made her way to the other room with the rest of the Team.

"Can I-?"

"No." Artemis pouted, folding her arms, when Batman answered. Though, she would absolutely swear she saw him smirk for less than a second. A few minutes later, the five other teenagers were off to Paris, leaving Artemis alone with Batman and Dinah.

"Come on." Artemis looked up at Batman, obviously confused, Dinah sharing her expression. "You need to learn to fight with one arm. We're going to the Batcave." Dinah's eyes widened and Artemis thought there was a distinct possibility that she didn't know Batman's secret identity. Artemis just smirked and followed the man to the Zeta-tubes, leaving a very stunned woman behind.


	26. Epilogue

Disclaimer-Sadly, I don't any of the rights to the DC universe, just to my thoughts.

Hey, never said it would be long.

As of my writing this, This is War has had 105 reviews, 16, 723 hits, 3, 654 visitors, been favorited 54 times, and added to people's alerts 55 times and continue to go up as I write. Thank you so much! This far exceeds even my initial hope for my first story on here! You guys are amazing and always inspired me to write more with you reviews! Thank you! And on days where I wasn't all that happy, I read these reviews and they put a smile on my face. Thank you, all of you, for being so awesome! :)

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><p><strong>12:16 P.M.<strong>

Sportsmaster walked into the dimly lit room. He slipped a switch in the corner, bringing seven screens to life. Each flickered with the ever-shifting outline of someone, white against a blue background.

"What news do you have for us?" The screen in the middle emitted the sound.

The man in the hockey mask replied calmly. "They managed to rescue the girl, though we did succeed in injecting the nanobots into the others."

"Not into the girl, right?"

"Of course not," Sportsmaster replied. He pulled out what looked almost light a lighter. However, when he flipped open the top, it was revealed to be a sort of trigger. He smirked behind the hockey mask. "I need only to press this and they will activate."

"Excellent."

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><p>So, yeah. It's gonna be similar to the Teen Titans thing where that happened with Rob... Anyway, I've got to get this other story off my chest before I start that so bear with me. Until next time! :)<p> 


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